Marius Lacatus has previous convictions for robbery and domestic violence from his native Romania.
Marius Lacatus (32) attacked the unsuspecting women from behind, dragging her to a park where he sexually assaulted her and told her he would kill her before passers-by raised the alarm and he fled.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that gardai found him nearby hiding under a bridge but he was too intoxicated to be interviewed for some time. He said he had no memory of the incident.
Lacatus of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and making threats to kill or cause serious harm to the woman, who was also a foreign national, in Dublin, on August 19, 2024. He has been in custody since his arrest after this offence.
He has previous convictions for robbery and domestic violence from his native Romania.
Marius Lacatus
News in 90 Seconds – July 25th
Passing sentence today, Judge Martin Nolan said for reasons known only to Lacatus he had grabbed the woman and physically assaulted her to some extent before sexually assaulting her.
Judge Nolan said the attack was sudden and unexpected and the woman had every right to be terrified.
The judge said he had read the victim impact statement which he said was understated and reasonable.
Judge Nolan said intoxication is no excuse and if the intoxication was by your own hand then you are responsible for what you do and responsible for your actions.
He noted the maximum sentence for the sexual assault was 10 years and set a headline sentence of eight years. He said he considered it a serious offence due to the sudden nature and violence of it.
Judge Nolan noted mitigating factors outlined by the defence such as his plea of guilty, impoverished background, remorse and good work history and imposed a five and a half year sentence.
An investigating garda told Maddie Grant BL, prosecuting, that the young woman was walking to work in the early hours of the morning when she was attacked from behind by Lacatus who put his arm around her neck and dragged her to a quiet location in a park.
Lacatus told the woman “I am going to kill you” before holding her down on the ground and putting his hand down inside her underwear, touching her vaginal area. She managed to scream and another young woman alerted gardai before going to her aid. Lacatus ran from the scene.
The court heard the incident lasted about two minutes in total.
The injured party received medical treatment, while gardai found Lacatus nearby hiding under a bridge.
Lacatus told gardai he had been drinking and taking drugs and did not remember the assault, although he accepted it was him on CCTV footage.
The young woman prepared a victim impact statement but did not wish for it to be read aloud in court.
Philipp Rahn SC, defending, said his client had been in Ireland since 2021 working in cleaning jobs and construction. He is the father of two children who do not live with him.
He said Lacatus was initially not fit to be interviewed but had co-operated with gardai once he sobered up and answered all questions put to him. He said Lacatus told gardai he was ashamed and would ask the woman for forgiveness.
He said he had come from Romania after a difficult and impoverished childhood. He suffers from epilepsy and receives his medication in prison.
He asked the court to take into account the remorse and shame Lacatus had expressed, as well as the fact that he was a foreign national who would be serving his sentence in an Irish jail.