Business student to be sentenced after he exposed his genitals in front of three women
Declan Brennan
A business student publicly exposed his genitals in front of three different women, a court has heard.
Rishabh Mahajan (20) of Gardiner St Lower, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to four counts of offensive conduct of a sexual nature likely to cause fear, distress or alarm to named persons.
He also pleaded guilty to carrying out a sexual assault relating to these incidents, which took place late at night on various dates in October and November 2024.
Garda Patrick Hynes told Simon Donagh BL, prosecuting, that at around 1am on October 23rd, 2024 a woman was working a night shift in a city centre office building with a large glass front when she saw a man standing outside looking at her with his genitals exposed.
Mahajan was masturbating while looking directly at the woman. The court heard the interior of the building was well lit up and the defendant could see the woman.
The victim went to the window to tell the defendant to go away, but he laughed at her. She called gardaí and Mahajan left when he saw her making this call.
A few days later, Mahajan appeared again at the woman's workplace at around 1.15am. He pulled his pants down and began masturbating while looking at her.
The woman felt disgusted and was scared she might encounter him while on her way to work, the court heard.
The defendant returned a few days later and exposed himself again. He came up to the window and wiped his hands on the glass before walking away.
Victim impact report
Gda Hynes told Judge Martina Baxter that all three incidents were captured on CCTV which was clearly in place. He agreed with the judge that the offending was “quite brazen” and took place in “quite an exposed part” of the city.
The court heard that the complainant had outlined the effects of the offending in a victim impact report.
Garda Stephanie Traynor told the court just after 6pm on the morning of October 11th, Mahajan was standing outside a youth hostel when a member of staff saw him standing looking at her.
He opened his coat and she saw his pants were pulled down and his genitals were exposed. Mahajan then began masturbating.
The court heard that the fourth victim was walking home from a night out on Hallowe'en night when she saw Mahajan standing on a corner masturbating.
She walked past and began to call gardai on her phone when Mahajan ran up to her and touched her bottom.
The woman screamed at him. The sexual assault was recorded on CCTV and Mahajan was identified and arrested in early November.
He told gardai he couldn't remember carrying out the offence. The court heard that Mahajan was standing in a “very public” place “waiting for anyone to go by”.
Gda Hynes agreed with Patrick Flynn BL, defending, that while committing these offences, the defendant made no attempts to conceal his identity with face coverings. Counsel said his client had his clothes back on when he carried out the sexual assault by touching the woman.
Mr Flynn said his client is an Indian national who had arrived in Ireland a month earlier to study at the Smurfit business school in UCD and was living in the Smithfield area at the time.
He said the defendant was now in homeless accommodation and has not come to adverse garda attention since these offences.
Counsel said he was instructed to offer an apology on his client's behalf to all victims. He said on the night of the Hallowe'en offences, Mahajan had been celebrating Diwali, a Hindu religious festival.
Judge Baxter adjourned sentence to May 19th next and remanded Mahajan on continuing bail. She ordered the defendant to provide the Probation Service with his contact details.
