Female paramedic left her job after being sexually assaulted by a patient at Craigavon Area Hospital, court hears
A female paramedic, who was sexually assaulted by a man waiting for treatment in the ambulance bay at Craigavon Hospital, has left her job because of the attack, a court has heard.
Arturas Mackevicius, (39), from Main Street, Lisnaskea and previously with an address at Portmore Street, Portadown, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court pleading guilty to sexually assault.
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The court heard police were tasked to the hospital amid reports of a man acting aggressively towards ambulance staff on March 21, 2025.
Staff said the defendant was brought to the Emergency Department after falling off his bike.
“Whilst waiting in the ambulance bay he became aggressive. It was reported he grabbed a female paramedic on her upper thigh in the vicinity of her vagina and said ‘I want to lick your f**king p**sy’,” a prosecutor told the court.
After his arrest Mackevicius told police he recalled being very drunk and aggressive however didn’t recall touching the injured party or saying what he is alleged to have said.
The court heard he blamed his aggression on alcohol. When asked about the sexual assault, he said: “I didn’t know that. That’s a scary thing you are saying’. He told police it wasn’t his intention to touch her. When asked about what he said to her, he replied: ‘I couldn’t have said that.”
When asked if he got sexual gratification from touching the female he said ‘no’ and ‘allegedly laughed at that point’.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan said he wanted to share a clarification from the victim’s impact statement saying: “he grabbed my groin area, touching my vagina’. “The court heard in the vicinity of the vagina – there’s a significant difference.”
Mackevicius’ barrister, Ms Ciara Ennis, said he accepts the full basis of the charge. She added her instructions in relation to the laugh during interview, was a ‘nervous laugh’. “He certainly wasn’t trying to undermine anything,” she said.
District Judge Ranaghan quoted from Mackevicius’ pre-sentence report saying: “I’m very sorry for what I did. She was doing her job. What I did was very wrong. I wouldn’t like myself or anyone in future to behave the way I did.”
Ms Ennis said this does appear to be “completely out of character” for Mackevicius who is “very sorry” for his actions.
District Judge Ranaghan said he wanted to share some of the victim impact statement and how it was “emotional and life-affecting”.
"She ultimately left her job. That means society has lost out as this lady has left a very important job. It has had an extreme effect on this lady’s emotion, affecting all aspects of her life. The court cannot turn its eyes away from that,” he said.
The district judge said the maximum penalty for this offence in the magistrates court is six months. He also said he would be obliged to reduce it to four months due to the guilty plea.
"That would mean the most he would serve is two months of actual time. I do not think that is the appropriate sentence,” the district judge said. “In this court the custodial sentence is so low to make it worthless.”
Mackevicius was given a Combination Order with 18 months Probation supervision and 100 hours Community Service. He was ordered to pay £500 compensation to the victim.