Man admits sexually assaulting woman in hospital while awaiting psychiatric assessment

Eimear Dodd

A man sexually assaulted a woman while he was waiting for a psychiatric assessment in a Dublin hospital, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

Tarak El-Hemissi (45) pleaded guilty to sexual assault at a Dublin hospital on a date in autumn 2025.

The court heard that he is a French national who arrived in Ireland two days before the incident.

He has a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medication several months beforehand.

He was arrested under the Mental Health Act after he was found walking along the M50 and was taken to the hospital for assessment.

He has been in custody since his arrest and has no other convictions here or in another jurisdiction.

An investigating garda outlined that the woman was waiting in a hospital bed for a test when she saw El-Hemissi standing in the corridor near her bed. She initially thought he was a porter, the court heard.

He went over and asked her if she was staying the night. The woman said she would have to stay after the test.

She asked him if he was a porter, and he said he didn’t understand. El-Hemissi then approached her and stroked her arm.

She asked him what he was doing and told him he couldn't do that as it wasn’t allowed. He replied that he was showing her some love.

The woman told him to stop, but he then pulled down the front of his trousers and exposed himself. He asked her to put his penis in her mouth to show him love.

She told him to stop, and he told her to be quiet.

The woman managed to get off the bed and alerted a staff member to what had happened. The court was told the woman was distressed and crying.

She pointed El-Hemissi out to hospital security, and they took him away until gardaí arrived.

The court was told that CCTV recorded El-Hemissi approaching the woman, but did not capture the incident, which lasted several minutes.

El-Hemissi was in the hospital waiting for a psychiatric assessment after his arrest earlier that day.

When gardaí arrived, they observed El-Hemissi being assessed. He was then discharged and arrested.

He made admissions when interviewed.  The court was told he initially suggested someone else had abused a woman, but later accepted what he did.

He told gardaí: “I’m very stupid, but I remember.” He also asked gardaí if they thought the woman would accept his apologies.

A victim impact statement was handed to the court but not read aloud.

After reading the statement, Judge Martina Baxter asked the investigating garda to convey the court’s best wishes to the injured party and to tell her that she is a “brave lady and should be proud of her actions”.

The investigating garda agreed with Aisling Ginger-Quinn, defending, that the Director of Public Prosecutions directed summary disposal, and her client pleaded guilty, but jurisdiction was refused by the District Court

It was also accepted that El-Hemissi only touched the woman’s arm, and that there is no indication he attempted to stop her from getting off the bed.

Ginger-Quinn told the court that El-Hemissi has been admitted eight times to psychiatric hospitals in France and was put under a conservatorship-type arrangement by the French courts due to his long history of mental health issues.

Counsel said her instructions are that El-Hemissi stopped taking his medication in May 2025, then started to get delusions the following month.

He set fire to his apartment and was homeless before coming to Ireland.  Ginger-Quinn said her instructions are that when El-Hemissi was found on the M50, he believed he was walking to the beach.

His mother reported him missing to the French authorities around the time he travelled to Ireland. A psychiatric report was handed in. El-Hemissi has a history of drug and alcohol misuse, which aggravates his mental health issues.

The court was told El-Hemissi was initially deemed unfit to plead after going into custody, but this assessment later changed.

Ginger-Quinn said her client has indicated he is ashamed since he started taking his medication again.

She told the court that the French authorities have indicated they are willing to pay for a flight to return him to the country and into the care of his mother, where he would re-engage with treatment services available to him.

The psychiatric services at Cloverhill Prison have also said they are willing to accompany him to the airport, the court was told.

Ginger-Quinn submitted to the court that her client’s offending was at the lower end of the scale and that he has shown remorse.

Judge Baxter directed the preparation of probation, governor and updated psychiatric reports and urine analysis.

Adjourning the case until October, the judge noted that “he is unfortunately in the eyes of the law a sex offender” and there has to be deterrence and a regime in place for the defendant.

She said the court’s view was that this offence was not at the lower end of the scale, noting that the woman was alone, a patient in hospital and “had nowhere to go”.

The judge said the court accepted the touching was only of the woman’s arm, but added it “had to be highly sinister and menacing” to the woman.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.