A man has appeared in court charged with the sexual assault of a young girl whom he allegedly approached on a suburban Dublin street while she was with her friend.
The accused man was arrested in north Dublin on Wednesday, when his home was also searched.
He appeared before the courts in the city on Wednesday afternoon and has been remanded in custody after a bail application was declined amid Garda objections.
The accused man, who worked as a Deliveroo driver, is also a suspect for two other incidents earlier this year during which children were allegedly approached inappropriately. In one case, the child managed to scream and run away, Dublin District Court was told on Wednesday.
The court heard the accused man denies sexually assaulting the young girl, though concedes he was at the location in question, which was a laneway close to the alleged victim’s home.
He claimed in Garda interviews he had a brief interaction with the girl and her friend in the laneway, but only to let them pass him, at which time he said he may have brushed against them.
However, Garda evidence to the court stated the girl had alleged the suspect engaged her in conversations, pulled her underwear down and touched her hips and her skin in the area just below her naval.
Gardaí objected to bail as the suspect posed a flight risk and amid concerns he would not stay in Ireland to face trial. The court was told he had been in Ireland for about two years and had no legal status here.
He no longer works as a Deliveroo driver.
The suspect, who is in his 20s, cannot be named at this time because the victim is a minor and because the charge relates to a sexual crime.
Other details that may identify the victim, or the accused, also cannot be disclosed under legal rules governing cases involving an allegation of a sexual crime.
The suspect, who is from abroad, is charged with the sexual assault of the girl last month contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act 1990.