A woman has told RTE’s Joe Duffy about the terrifying moment she found a man in her home at 1am.
Lizzie Fleming told Joe she was on her way to bed when she heard cars revving outside her home located at the bottom of a 300m boreen in the countryside.
She said: “This time last year during lockdown, I was just on the way to bed, it was about 1am and I heard some cars revving in my yard. I live up a very long private boreen of 300m, and I came out of my bedroom, and there was a strange man standing there with a can of beer, and I somehow remained calm.”
Ms Fleming said she made small talk with the man as she tried to encourage him to leave her house.
She said: “He was making small talk and wanting to go on the couch with me, but I managed to get him outside because I thought he had perhaps hit my car, and I came outside, and there was another man outside also with a can of beer, and I was giving out to them about drink driving you know and during lockdown and trying to get them away.”
However, despite Ms Fleming's best efforts, she said the man who had entered her home was determined not to leave and continue his party at her home.
After this, the man approached Ms Fleming and grabbed her arm, asking her to perform a sex act on him.
She said: “So I then saw red. I guess in my… fight or flight brain, I, you know I had nowhere to run to, so I slapped him, and I chased him to the car.
“I got his licence plate number, and I called the guards who came right away.”
After this, the men left Ms Flemings premises and were pulled over by the guards the following day.
She said: “He was then pulled over the next day, and he admitted to everything, and it went to court, and he was charged with trespass.
“I had asked the guards about the sexual harassment element, but they advised me that it was unlikely to go anywhere and that they’d have better success with the trespass charge.”
