Mamadou Alpha Bah came to Ireland from Guinea through family reunification in 2018. He later faced two separate cases involving attacks on two women: a violent hotel-room sexual assault in 2020 and the sexual assault and false imprisonment of his flatmate’s girlfriend in 2021. Defence counsel told the second sentencing court that deportation orders were in place for his eventual release.
The 2020 hotel attack
On 2 September 2020, Bah pushed a 43-year-old woman onto a Dublin hotel bed when she tried to leave, pinned her, ordered her to undress, threatened to break her neck, sexually assaulted her through clothing, punched her and tried to force her legs apart. She escaped while he used the toilet. Bah chased her through the corridor and tried to drag her back until a couple intervened. CCTV captured the chase.
He pleaded guilty on the morning of trial to sexual assault and assault causing harm. Judge Martin Nolan described a violent sexual assault, set an eight-to-nine-year headline range and imposed six years on 19 February 2024.
The 2021 Kildare attack
On 20 August 2021, shortly after his flatmate left for work, Bah entered the bedroom where the man’s girlfriend slept, pulled away her bedclothes, got on top of her and sexually assaulted her while she struggled for about ten minutes. A unanimous jury convicted him of sexual assault and false imprisonment. In October 2023, he received five years with the final year suspended, plus a concurrent three-year term with its final year suspended.
Both offences occurred before Bah’s first conviction. This is not a story of offending after release or sentence. It is a record of two attacks, later adjudicated separately. The court heard he presented a moderate risk of sexual or violent reoffending.
Immigration and sentence gaps
Bah is a Guinean native who entered through family reunification. No source identifies him as an asylum seeker or unlawful resident. Defence said deportation orders were in place, but their dates, legal basis and current enforcement status were not reported. The 2024 report also did not explain how the six-year term interacted with the existing sentence, so the two prison benchmarks must not be added.
Chronology
- 2018: Arrival through family reunification.
- 2 September 2020: Dublin hotel attack.
- 20 August 2021: Kildare sexual assault and false imprisonment.
- 27 August 2021: Remanded in custody.
- July 2023: Unanimous Kildare verdicts.
- 9 October 2023: First sentence.
- 19 February 2024: Six-year hotel-case sentence.
Cost benchmark
The later six-year sentence alone represents €594,432 at the Irish Prison Service’s 2024 staffed-space average, or €445,824 in a simple ordinary-remission scenario.
Questions the State should answer
- What are the legal basis and dates of the reported deportation orders?
- Which sentence now controls release?
- When were the two investigations linked?
- Was family-reunification permission reviewed after charge or conviction?
- Will removal occur directly after the controlling term?
- Has Bah completed or been assessed for the required treatment programme?