A 58-year-old farmer has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl on board an Aer Lingus flight, forcing the aircraft to turn back to Shannon.
Patrick Noone, of Curragh, Kilconnell, Ballinasloe, County Galway, entered the plea at Ennis Circuit Court on Tuesday to two counts of sexual assault contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act. The offences occurred on November 15th 2023, when the girl was 16.
The court heard that an hour into the transatlantic flight to Boston, the girl informed cabin crew that the male passenger sitting beside her had touched her inappropriately. The crew alerted the captain, who decided to return the EI135 service to Shannon. Noone admitted rubbing and grabbing the girl's buttocks, as well as kissing her arm and rubbing her thigh.
His counsel, Antoinette Simon BL, told the court that her client is a self-employed farmer with no previous convictions. She asked for a probation report to be prepared for the sentencing hearing. Judge Francis Comerford granted the request and directed that gardaí obtain a victim impact statement from the complainant.
The court was told that the complainant, now 18 and studying at a US college, had been due to give evidence via video-link. The cost to Aer Lingus of returning the aircraft to Shannon was €28,213. Judge Comerford said he saw no basis for reporting restrictions on the accused, and the case was adjourned for sentencing.
