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Under Irish law, individuals accused of certain sexual offences cannot be publicly identified before a conviction. A man was brought before Blanchardstown District Court charged over the alleged sexual assault of a young girl in west Dublin at the start of the week. The accused (26) appeared briefly before Judge John Brennan shortly after 10.30am on Tuesday. Detective Sergeant Sinead Connolly told the court that the man was arrested at 3.58am at Clondalkin Garda Station the previous day. She told the court that he was charged by Sergeant Neil O’Brien. His reply after caution was “I have nothing to say”. The man was accused of assaulting the young girl at Garter Lane, the roadway that leads alongside the front of the Citywest complex, in the early hours of Monday morning. The court was asked to assign an Arabic interpreter, which was granted by the judge. The man was further remanded in custody in a second court appearance at Cloverhill on Wednesday, when the judge ordered that he be medically and psychiatrically assessed. Advertisement After the hearing, Judge Mitchell noted that there was a “heightened level of security” at the court and asked the Garda present whether this would continue for future hearings. The Garda indicated that it would. There has been no application for bail. Questions have been raised on social media as to why the man cannot be named. However, naming the accused is illegal under the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981. The version of this law that is currently enacted has a section called Anonymity of accused, which says: “After a person is charged with an applicable offence no matter likely to lead members of the public to identify him as the person against whom the charge is made shall be published or broadcast.” The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Act 2024 defines such “applicable offences” to include, among other crimes, “a sexual assault offence”. In other words: media outlets cannot publish identifiable information about people charged before the courts in sexual assault cases. That 2024 act expanded the blanket anonymity for suspects from solely rape cases to a wider range of sex crimes. The law sets out that a person can be identified post-conviction as long as the anonymity of the victim is not compromised. Judges often also issue orders prohibiting reporting on cases involving children, typically taking a cautious approach to letting any information that may identify the child from being aired in the public sphere — including the identity of the accused. The suspect in the Citywest sexual assault case remains in custody, and is expected to appear in court again on 5 November. With reporting by Jane Moore. Want to be your own fact-checker? Visit our brand-new FactCheck Knowledge Bank for guides and toolkits Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... It is vital that we surface facts from noise.Articles like this one brings you clarity, transparency and balance so you can make well-informed decisions. We set up FactCheck in 2016 to proactively expose false or misleading information, but to continue to deliver on this mission we need your support. Over 5,000 readers like you support us. If you can, please consider setting up a monthly payment or making a once-off donation to keep news free to everyone. Support The Journal The Journal's monthly FactCheck newsletter keeps you in the loop about what misinformation trends Ireland is experiencing - and how we're fighting back. Sign up here You are now signed up Shane Raymond Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Why the man accused of sexually assaulting a young girl near Citywest can't be named ”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Why the man accused of sexually assaulting a young girl near Citywest can't be named ”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... 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