A teenager has said the man found guilty of sexually assaulting her in Sligo three years ago did not just commit a crime but stole her innocence.
Earlier this month, a jury found 37-year-old Ziaullhaq Safi guilty of sexual assault and of providing renumeration to a child for the purposes of sexual exploitation in April 2023.
In a victim impact statement read out by Detective Garda Kieran Higgins, the woman said she wanted the court to understand how it changed her life.
She said she could not sleep, had flashbacks, nightmares and suicidal thoughts following the sexual assault and was left to pick up the pieces.
"He didn't just commit a crime, he stole my innocence," Sligo Circuit Criminal Court heard.
A jury found Ziaullhaq Safi, of Market Yard, Sligo, who denies the offences, guilty following a three-week trial before Judge Roderick Maguire.
Safi was found guilty of sexual assault and of providing renumeration to a child for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
A specialist interview was conducted by gardaí with the complainant, who did not attend the sentencing hearing. Sligo County Prosecutor, Leo Mulrooney BL, provided a summary of the victim's evidence.
The court heard that on the day of the incident, the victim had met friends in Sligo.
The court heard they saw a man standing beside a gate, who beckoned them into an alleyway.
The victim later attended a sexual assault treatment unit.
Photographs and CCTV was provided as evidence in the trial, which heard from 13 witnesses.
The court heard the victim felt unsafe, scared and nervous.
Ziaullhaq Safi, who has no previous convictions, has been in custody since he was found guilty by jury on 13 March.
The court heard Safi, originally from Afghanistan, has five children and his wife, who is supporting him is pregnant, expecting twins.
The court heard that Safi, who has refugee status, does not accept the view of the jury. His legal counsel referred to his background as way of mitigation.
They said he had to flee from the Taliban for trying to teach children, that his house was set on fire, his father was killed and he travelled through Europe to Ireland.
Safi will be sentenced on 13 April in Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court.
