Man convicted of sexually assaulting woman he met on Tinder
A jury has convicted a man of sexually assaulting a woman during a date arranged through Tinder.
The 36-year-old Dublin man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexual assault of the foreign national on UCD campus, south Dublin on July 23, 2014.
Shortly after noon today, having deliberated for around 90 minutes, the jury of six men and six women returned a unanimous verdict of guilty.
The accused showed no reaction when the verdict was delivered. Judge Cormac Quinn made an order declaring the accused as a sex offender.
During the trial the woman, now aged 35, testified that she arranged to meet the man after some weeks of communicating with him on the Tinder dating programme and on Whatsapp.
He picked her up in his car, a blue BMW, and drove her to a field on UCD campus. The woman said that he then “changed completely”, becoming aggressive and sexually assaulting her.
The man told gardaí that he thought they were meeting to “hook up” and hoped they would have sex. He denied getting angry and attacking her when this didn't happen.
He said that while in the car he did lean in to kiss her and that she pushed him away and he moved away. He said she then became hysterical and jumped out of the car and he drove off.
Judge Quinn thanked the jurors for their service. He remanded the man in continuing custody for sentencing on December 15.
