A MAN ACCUSED of sexually assaulting a three-year-old boy in Dublin in front of his wife has been denied bail.

Dublin District Court heard he maintained he touched the boy’s penis at a public location to scold him for urinating on a slide in a play area.

Gheorghe Rafaila, 32, with no fixed abode but using an address at St Mobhi Road, Dublin 9, was extradited to Ireland from the UK on a European Arrest Warrant (EAW).

He appeared before Judge John Hughes at the weekend sitting of Dublin District Court, facing a single count of sexual assault of the child on a date last year.

The DPP directed the case stay in the jurisdiction of the District Court if he pleaded guilty; otherwise, he would go on trial in the Circuit Court, which has broader sentencing powers.

Defence counsel Kevin McCrave submitted that his client would surrender his passport and furnish an address.

The court heard the Romanian national had lived in Ireland as an upright citizen, working for a waste management firm for over three years.

The judge asked the defence to address the EAW. Counsel explained that Rafaila had gone to the UK looking for work.

The barrister submitted that his client, a married father, was not charged or on a bail bond at that time and had not breached an order.

Objecting to bail, Garda Sergeant Eoin Treacy detailed his flight risk concerns. He understood the accused was “gainfully employed” in Ireland and did not accept that Rafaila went to the UK for work.

He said the accused left two days after the alleged incident and was joined by his wife.

In an outline of the prosecution evidence, Sergeant Treacy said the accused and his wife were sitting on a bench.

It was alleged the boy, aged three, was playing nearby and that the accused “beckoned” him over and lifted him onto the bench beside him.

Sergeant Treacy told the court they were not known to each other, and “none of his actions followed”.

It was alleged that the defendant could be seen placing his hand on the child’s groin, lifting his leg and putting his hand inside his shorts.

Immediately after this, the boy reported to his mother that the man had “touched his willy”.

Sergeant Treacy arrested the accused and interviewed him, during which he gave a full account of his actions.

The court heard he told the officer that he did not see it as inappropriate in his culture. He claimed the boy had urinated on the slide in the play area earlier, and the defendant wanted to outline “that he could not be doing that”.

He allegedly told gardai, “I said ‘look how small your willy is’ and touched his penis”.

The accused has not yet indicated how he will plead. Judge Hughes refused bail and remanded him in custody to appear again later this month.

Legal aid was granted to the man, who listened to the proceedings with the assistance of an interpreter.