Newtownabbey man jailed for sexually assaulting woman outside Mater Hospital in Belfast
A Newtownabbey man has been jailed for sexually assaulting a woman outside a hospital.
Austin Mulvenna, 40, drunkenly targeted the victim in front of her son earlier this year.
Prosecutors said he also started fighting with the other man.
Mulvenna, of Hollybrook Avenue, was sentenced to five months in prison.
Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard police on the Crumlin Road spotted the scuffle on August 22.
Mulvenna had approached the other man and his mother while they stood outside the Mater Hospital.
"He began to make inappropriate comments of a sexual nature towards (the woman) and rubbed his hands over her upper thigh,” a Crown lawyer said.
Her son told Mulvenna to stop and pushed him away from his mother before a verbal argument broke out between the two men.
Both victims were said to have been assaulted during the altercation.
Checks confirmed the incident was captured on CCTV.
Mulvenna also breached bail conditions at the time by being drunk and in possession of alcohol.
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He denied the charges but was convicted of sexual assault and two counts of common assault.
Defence barrister Michael Boyd described Mulvenna as an intelligent and capable man whose life has come apart in recent years.
Stressing Mulvenna’s efforts to undergo rehabilitation for drug and alcohol abuse, Mr Boyd argued that immediate custody could derail his progress.
"He is full of remorse and shame for his conduct,” counsel added.
But highlighting how he took the case to trial, District Judge Steven Keown imposed five months custody and put him on the sex offenders register for seven years.
Mulvenna was later released on bail pending appeal against the sentence.