A MAN HAS been accused of following and carrying out a “predatory” attack on a woman who informed gardaí she was held on the ground and bitten on her face and lips in a south Dublin suburb.

Seif Waleed Al Hindawi (22) believed to be from Syria, was charged with assault causing harm to the woman who suffered facial injuries near her home in Churchtown on Wednesday night.

He was detained for questioning over two days, charged yesterday evening, held pending the next sitting of Dublin District Court and then denied bail by Judge Monika Leech.

Garda Michelle Maunsell told Judge Leech that Mr Hindawi’s reply to the charge was, “I didn’t attack her”.

The judge noted that the accused and the woman did not know each other.

Garda Stephen Morley objected to bail due to the seriousness of the incident and flight risk concerns.

He said directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions were awaited, adding, “and it is anticipated that there will be further charges”.

Hindawi was granted legal aid and remanded in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on 31 May.

Allegations

Outlining the allegations, Garda Morley said the woman stated that a male assaulted her after she got off a Luas tram at Windy Arbour at about 11.20 pm on Wednesday.

She told the gardaí that she “felt someone was following her”.

It was alleged that she continued walking to her housing estate and contacted her husband “because she felt anxious at the situation”.

The court heard, “she glanced back to see she was most definitely followed by an unknown male”.

It was claimed that “he ran toward her, pushed her to the ground”.

She landed on her back and screamed, and the male “held her down and was attempting to bite her on the face”.

“She says the male was screaming in a foreign language, and she made attempts to defend herself by hitting him while she was still on an active call with her husband, who heard the assault over the phone.”

The garda told the court the woman stated she tried to kick the man to get him off her, and he ran away.

The contested bail hearing was told her husband could hear her screaming in distress on the call, and she ran to her home.

She dialled 999 and immediately got into their car with her husband, and she allegedly kept the male in sight.

The court heard she described the attacker to the emergency service operator.

The garda said the woman sustained a cut on her lip and was treated at St Vincent’s hospital with a tetanus injection and antibiotics.

The court heard she had bruises and swelling and a cut on the inside of her lip that required stitches, and she was terrified.

It was alleged the complainant pointed out the accused to gardaí, and he had blood coming from his mouth and lips and blood stains on his clothing.

Officers provided him with a translator and checked the area for CCTV evidence.

No ties to state

Garda Morley told the court the man was unemployed and had no ties to the State or family here. He conceded that the accused had no convictions, warrant history, or other charges pending.

The officer believed “this was a premeditated assault on a vulnerable female walking home alone late at night in a poorly lit area”.

He added that it was unprovoked, and she was followed and set upon in a “predatory” and “opportunistic” way.

The man did not address the court and listened to the proceedings with the aid of an interpreter.

Garda Morley said the accused was believed to be a Syrian asylum seeker.

The court heard he did not provide an address and had no valid form of ID other than a card given to him with a date of birth.

Concerns were also raised that there could be attempts to intimidate the alleged injured party. The complainant did not give evidence in the bail hearing.

Cross-examined by defence counsel Garrett Casey, the garda agreed the accused was entitled to the presumption of innocence; CCTV camera enquiries were being made, and the investigations were ongoing.

He accepted the barrister’s proposition that there would be a lengthy period before the matter came to trial.

Counsel pointed out the man had disputed the allegation when he was charged. The garda concurred but said that the man had said in his interview that there was an altercation.

During further exchanges between the witness and the defence, the garda said it was believed the man came to Ireland in March “by ship in a container with his brother” and had been in Dundrum in recent weeks.

He did not have a passport.

Homeless

Casey said his client instructed him that he was homeless but had been offered accommodation at what used to be a hostel in Dundrum with his brother.

The garda accepted the accused had mentioned that in his interview.

He said the defendant had an international protection application card given to him by the Irish authorities, with details he had provided to them.

Pleading for bail, the defence counsel said the accused would obey stringent conditions if released, including signing on daily at a garda station, being contactable by phone, and staying away from the scene of the alleged assault.

However, the defence accepted that he would have to find another residence after the judge drew attention to the fact that Mr Hindawi proposed to live “a stone’s throw away” from the location of the alleged offence.

Refusing bail, Judge Leech held that he was a flight risk.