A young woman who was stalked by a man who followed her into her hotel in the early hours of the morning has told a court she no longer feels safe and the incident has taken over her life.
The young social media influencer has said she has to turn down career opportunities or take family members with her on work trips as she is now terrified of staying alone in a hotel.
Denis Morris, 24, of Braemor Road, Churchtown, Dublin 14, has pleaded guilty to stalking the woman by following her into the Iveagh Gardens hotel on Harcourt Street on 21 March last.
His sentence was adjourned to February next to allow time for a probation report to be prepared and to explore the possibility of restorative justice.
Dublin District Court was shown CCTV footage of the woman saying goodbye to friends after a night out in Coppers nightclub before being followed into her hotel by the man who entered the lift and walked down the corridor to her hotel bedroom.
The woman told the court that her mother, who was in the hotel room, was "just as scared that night".
She later reported the incident to gardaí. Detective Garda Eamon Leen of the Garda Protective Services Unit told the court Morris was tracked down through CCTV and his use of a taxi app to leave the area after he left the hotel through the fire escape.
Garda Leen said the man was arrested and gave an incomplete account of what happened that night, at first he said that he was looking for his girlfriend, but later said he could not remember exactly what happened.
Reading her victim impact statement, the woman broke down in the witness box as she described the fear she felt on the night as she realised the man had followed her into the hotel lift.
She said she began filming on her phone, "not knowing what his intentions were, but just to get footage so my family would know what had happened".
She said her job involved meeting new people and until that night she was proud of where she had got her confidence to, but that "all changed in a single night and has affected me ever since".
She added: "It changed how I feel about safety, people and myself."
She explained how she was "having so much fun with friends" and was working with a brand she had "wanted to work with forever" but that "happy, proud moment was stripped from me in seconds".
She said she and her friends had done everything to make sure they were safe that night "but I was followed to my bedroom door".
She said she no longer feels safe walking into her apartment and does not trust hotel staff or security to keep her safe. She is constantly wondering who might be watching and now has to bring her mother or other family members to hotels as she is too anxious to stay alone.
She said previously her work required her to be in Dublin every week and she loved the freedom of travelling for work, but she now has to turn down opportunities as she is too anxious.
She told the judge she hoped justice would be served and she could finally move on.
Defence counsel for Morris said he had prepared a letter of apology to the woman. The court heard he had told gardaí he had been drinking heavily on the night and has since been dealing with his issues around alcohol and was now sober.
He had lost his full time job because of the incident, which was described by his barrister as "opportunistic" because he had not been stalking her before that night.
His defence counsel Fiona Pekaar described his actions as "reprehensible and extremely stupid". "He gave unwanted attention to a woman and he is not shying away from it," Ms Pekaar said.
The court was told Morris had been drinking all night and may have thought the woman was his girlfriend but simply could not remember enough to explain his actions.
"He was very intoxicated and made a stupid mistake which caused a young girl to be very frightened," Ms Pekaar told the court, adding: "He has done everything he can to atone for this grave action, he knows he caused her fear and he is beyond apologetic, remorseful, embarrassed and ashamed for everything that happened that night."
Judge Treasa Kelly said it was a serious matter and had a serious impact on the young woman and had "knocked her back".
She adjourned the case to February next for the preparation of a probation report and said the possibility of restorative justice - a process which brings together offenders and victims - could be explored.
