A Morrocan man with 22 prior convictions in Ireland but who was released from custody after he filed a spurious asylum claim, was today jailed for ten years after he subsequently broke in through the window of a sleeping woman’s bedroom and sexually assaulted her as she fought to escape.
The woman described at the Central Criminal Court how she awoke in bed to find Ibrahim Elghynaoui (28) on top of her kissing her with his hand on her throat.
She said she believed she was going die as Elghynaoui then strangled her during a struggle on her bedroom floor.
The woman realised no one was coming to help her so began to fight back by pushing her thumbs into his eyes, kneeing him in the groin and biting him on the hand.
The woman said she told herself: “If you don’t get yourself out of this you are going to die.”
Moroccan national Elghynaoui, who was homeless at the time of these offences, has 33 previous convictions across three jurisdictions.
He has 22 Irish convictions for offences such as burglary, possession of a knife and failing to appear in court.
The court heard today that Elghynaoui came to Ireland in 2017 and first appeared on the PULSE system in August of that year.
He has no immigration status to be in Ireland and a deportation application was submitted by gardai in January 2018.
He was in custody on foot of charges in April 2018 and applied for asylum. Elghynaoui was released from custody on the basis of that application but failed to engage with the process and the application was closed.
Another deportation order is currently in place.
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