Ireland Case No. 22001Sexual assault (of a child) · Co. Dublin · 22 Jul 2019
Romanian man jailed for 18 months for sexually assaulting toddler in Dublin
Gheorghe Rafaila, 32, a Romanian man, was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for sexually assaulting a three-year-old boy at a hotel in Dublin in July 2019. He was extradited from the UK and his deportation was ordered on completion of his sentence.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced8 Mar
3 reports
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports43 statements extracted from the articles
- whatGheorghe Rafaila, 32, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a three-year-old boy (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe assault lasted about four minutes (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe boy demonstrated that the man had touched his penis and testicles (irishtimes.com)
- whatRafaila said in the Roma community touching a child's genitals is something playful (irishtimes.com)
- whatGheorghe Rafaila pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a three-year-old boy (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe assault lasted about four minutes in a courtyard (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe boy demonstrated that the man had pulled out his penis and played with his testicles (irishmirror.ie, gript.ie)
- whatThe man fondled the genitalia of a three-year-old boy in an assault that lasted four minutes. (gript.ie)
- whatAt the time of his arrest the man told Gardaí the act was playful in the Roma community. (gript.ie)
- whatThe man has a previous conviction from another jurisdiction for theft, assault and robbery. (gript.ie)
- whatThe man's wife was present at close proximity during the incident. (gript.ie)
- whereThe assault took place at a homeless hub (hotel) in Dublin (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe assault took place in a courtyard where Rafaila was sitting on a bench beside his wife (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe assault took place at a homeless hub in Dublin (irishmirror.ie)
- whereBoth the man and the child were residing at a hotel in Dublin at the time. (gript.ie)
- whenThe incident occurred on 22 July 2019 (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe assault occurred on 22 July 2019. (gript.ie)
- investigationCCTV footage of the incident was played to the court (irishtimes.com)
- investigationRafaila was arrested on the day of the incident and cooperated with gardaí (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie)
- investigationRafaila was arrested in the UK and later extradited to Ireland (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie)
- investigationCCTV footage of the entire incident was played to the court (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationCCTV footage captured the assault showing the toddler approach the man sitting on a courtyard bench. (gript.ie)
- chargeThe man pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the toddler. (gript.ie)
- courtJudge Martin Nolan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court handed down the sentence (irishtimes.com)
- courtJudge Martin Nolan handed down the sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceThe sentence was two-and-a-half years with the final year suspended (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceRafaila was ordered to leave the country and return to Romania on release (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceThe sentence was backdated to 14 October 2022 when Rafaila went into custody in the UK (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceThe final year of the sentence was suspended (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceRafaila was ordered to be of good behaviour for one year on release (irishmirror.ie)
- sentenceThe man was jailed for 18 months at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. (gript.ie)
- sentenceThe man's deportation was ordered on completion of his sentence. (gript.ie)
- otherRafaila has previous convictions from another jurisdiction including theft, assault and robbery (irishtimes.com)
- otherRafaila has five children (irishtimes.com)
- otherRafaila had been working with Panda Waste as a sorter at the time of the offence (irishtimes.com)
- otherRafaila was ordered to leave the country on release and return to Romania (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe boy asked his mother if she was going to kill the man (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe boy told the man not to touch him again (irishmirror.ie)
- otherRafaila said the behaviour was playful in the Roma community (irishmirror.ie)
- otherRafaila had previous convictions from another jurisdiction including theft, assault and robbery (irishmirror.ie)
- otherRafaila has five children and was working with Panda Waste as a sorter at the time of the offence (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe young age of the child was an aggravating factor (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe man was extradited from the UK to face the charges. (gript.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 9 Mar2023Roma man who sexually assaulted toddler told Gardaí it was “playful” in his culture - Gript
Sentencing report: 18-month prison sentence and deportation order; details of the four-minute assault, CCTV evidence, the defendant's cultural defence, and the judge's response.
convicted, Gheorghe Rafaila, 32, male, Romanian, named, non-irishGheorghe Rafailavictim, 3, male - 9 Mar2023Man jailed for sexually assaulting three-year-old boy at Dublin homeless hotel
Sentencing report: Rafaila pleaded guilty and received a two-and-a-half year sentence with the final year suspended; ordered to leave Ireland on release and return to Romania.
convicted, Gheorghe Rafaila, 32, male, Romanian, named, non-irishGheorghe Rafailavictim, 3, male - 8 Mar2023Man jailed for sexually assaulting young boy in Dublin homeless hub
Provides full detail of the sentencing hearing including CCTV evidence, the mother's account, the boy's statements, Rafaila's defence about Roma community customs, his work history, the suspended portion of the sentence, and the backdating to October 2022.
victim, 3, maleconvicted, Gheorghe Rafaila, 32, male, Romanian, named, non-irishGheorghe Rafaila