A MAN WHO carried out a “shocking, brutal and cowardly sexual assault” on an “unsuspecting woman” walking her dog in a Co Cork park has been jailed for six years.

Vadim Veste (28), of Clancy Street, Fermoy, Co Cork, a dual Moldovan-Romanian national, pleaded guilty before the Central Criminal Court to aggravated sexual assault of the woman, who is aged in her 50s, at St Colman’s Park in Fermoy, Co Cork, on 7 November, 2021.

At a previous sentence hearing at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork, the court heard Veste travelled to Ireland just 18 days after being released from prison where he had served a sentence for the rape of a minor.

Veste served a three-year prison sentence for the rape of the 14-year-old girl who was known to him in Eastern Europe in July 2016.

He was released from custody on 11 December, 2020 and travelled to Ireland to stay with his mother on 29 December.

Sentencing Veste today, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said it was a “shocking, brutal and cowardly sexual assault which was violent, degrading and humiliating and left the woman with nasty injuries”.

He said the attack had been on an unsuspecting woman and noted Veste’s history of serious sexual offending.

He said the woman had been out walking her dog on a dark evening around 6pm when she was pulled forcibly to the ground.

He said Veste used a hat as a gag to prevent the woman crying out and used his knees to hold her down by her shoulders.

He touched her vagina outside of her underwear.

“It was a terrifying experience”, the judge said before he added that the woman was walking alone in a dark and unlit park, but it was a park she was familiar with and she felt “entirely safe”.

He said the woman believed she was going to be raped and murdered.

The judge commented on the woman’s bravery in fighting back against Veste, scratching his face and neck, biting and kicking him.

She also screamed, which drew the attention of two young Polish men who had been jogging nearby who then came to her assistance.

Mr Justice McDermott noted that Veste’s DNA was later found under the fingernails of the woman.

He said he saw photos of what he described as the “shocking” injuries sustained by the woman and he added the impact of such an attack should never be underestimated.

“It had a terrible effect on her at the time and subsequently,” the judge said, adding that it generated fear not only that evening but also led to a fear that persists.

He said it impacted her safety and contentment in doing the most simplest of things like going for a walk with her dog and said it had “seeped” into her sense of security.

The judge said the consideration of CCTV footage from the local area led to the arrest of Veste.

He said the man initially suggested that he had a row with the woman about her dog.

Mr Justice McDermott said he had to consider the fact that Veste had a previous conviction for the rape of a 14-year-old.

He said the evidence from that conviction was that the relationship had been consensual and that Veste had been six years older than the girl.

The rape occurred when he forced the girl to have sex without her consent.

Mr Justice McDermott said the aggravating features in the current case included the random and predatory nature of the attack and the fact that the woman was attacked from behind when she was alone in the dark.

He set a headline sentence of nine years before he took into account the mitigating features in the case including an expression of remorse from the man.

However, the judge said a report from the Probation Service raised a serious concern as he believed it showed “a lack of insight and acceptance of what he has done” in relation to the sexual element of the offence.

The judge said Veste clearly needs to have his offending addressed and said that the man also seems to have “a particular attitude towards woman”.

He sentenced Veste to six years and six months in prison before he suspended the final six months for two years on strict conditions, including that he attends for any treatment as deemed appropriate by the Probation Service.

Mr Justice McDermott also ordered that the man not approach the victim or her family and ordered that he have no unsupervised access to children.

He placed him under a six-year post release supervision order “for the protection of society and to prevent future offending”.

At a previous sentence hearing in Cork in March of this year, the woman delivered a victim impact statement and said she felt she was going to die. 

“I was on my usual walk with my dog – it was my normal routine and I’d listen to music on my headphones,” she told the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork. 

“Someone came from behind and put their hand over my mouth, I tried to resist, I tried to fight. 

“I remember thinking I was going to die, I could feel my breathing stop and I thought of my daughter.

“Thank god two guys heard me scream – thank god someone came to my rescue.”

-With additional reporting from Niall O’Connor