Marek Krol: the sexual assault that required a State appeal before prison followed

A passer-by raised the alarm when a completely unresponsive young woman was seen in the arms of Marek Krol in Cork city. CCTV later revealed an invasive sexual assault. The Circuit Court suspended the entire two-year term; the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, and the Court of Appeal ordered immediate custody.

The Court of Appeal judgment identifies Krol as a Polish national who was 53 at the time of the offence, worked as a handyman and painter and had lived in Ireland for 11 years. Court reporting says he had no previous convictions.

The reviewed record does not establish his immigration permission, any removal assessment, a later departure or his present location. His nationality and length of residence do not prove any of those matters, and this file makes no current-custody or removal claim.

A passer-by intervened

In the early hours of 1 February 2016, the 25-year-old woman became separated from friends after socialising in Cork city. At about 1.20am, a member of the public contacted Gardaí out of concern for her safety.

Garda John Twomey arrived and found the woman passed out and slumped over in Krol’s arms. The adjudicated account records that Krol was caressing her and kissing her neck. She was unresponsive. When she awoke and Gardaí pointed Krol out, she said she did not know him and had not known she was in his arms. Gardaí reunited her with her friends and ensured she got home.

CCTV disclosed the full assault

The next evening, Garda Twomey reviewed CCTV. It showed conduct more serious than officers could see when they first arrived: Krol had opened the woman’s trousers, put his hand inside them and touched her. By the time Gardaí reached the scene, her clothes had been closed again.

The woman learned what had happened only after Gardaí told her about the footage. In the victim-impact material summarised by the court, she described horror and extreme embarrassment, attended cognitive behavioural therapy and expressed relief that the guilty plea meant she would not have to relive the assault in a courtroom.

Krol was arrested on 1 April 2016. The judgment records that he made admissions after being shown the CCTV. He later pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault contrary to section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990.

A prison term with no prison

On 1 November 2016, Judge David Riordan at Cork Circuit Criminal Court imposed a two-year sentence but suspended it in full. The Irish Examiner reported that Krol was also ordered to pay the woman’s medical bills arising after the assault.

The Director of Public Prosecutions challenged the wholly suspended term under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993. This was not an appeal against Krol’s conviction: his guilty plea stood. It was a State appeal arguing that the sentence was unduly lenient.

The Court of Appeal’s correction

On 22 June 2017, the three-judge Court of Appeal allowed the DPP appeal in DPP v Krol [2017] IECA 205. It held that an invasive sexual assault on a comatose person unable to resist requires a custodial sentence except in wholly exceptional circumstances.

The court retained the original two-year headline term, but suspended only the portion above the final seven-and-a-half months. Krol was therefore required to serve seven-and-a-half months in immediate custody. The court recognised that being sent to prison after initially receiving a fully suspended term created an added difficulty and imposed less custody than it might have imposed at first instance.

The appeal judgment is the final reported sentencing disposition found. Contemporary reporting said Krol would be sent to prison the following Monday. The public sources reviewed do not establish the precise period ultimately served, a later appeal, a release date or his location now.

Chronology

• 1 February 2016: passer-by alerts Gardaí; Krol sexually assaults the unconscious woman in Cork city.
• 1 April 2016: arrested and makes admissions after viewing CCTV.
• 1 November 2016: guilty plea dealt with at Cork Circuit Criminal Court; two years imposed and wholly suspended.
• 22 June 2017: Court of Appeal allows the DPP’s undue-leniency appeal.
• 26 June 2017: contemporary reports said Krol was to enter custody.
• 31 July 2026: no later appeal, verified release date, present-location record or removal decision found in the reviewed sources.

Public-cost benchmark

An Oireachtas written answer gives the 2024 average annual cost of an available staffed prison space as €99,072, or €8,256 per month. Applied mechanically to the seven-and-a-half-month custodial portion ordered on appeal, that gives a gross capacity benchmark of €61,920.

This is not a case invoice or a claim about the exact time served. It excludes Garda, prosecution, DPP appeal, court, legal-aid, medical and victim-support costs and uses a later system-wide annual average. The Irish Prison Service annual report provides prison-system context; the Oireachtas answer supplies the benchmark.

Sources

• Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Annual Report 2017 — official summary of the successful undue-leniency appeal.
• DPP v Krol [2017] IECA 205 — Court of Appeal judgment text and adjudicated facts.
• Irish Examiner, 2 November 2016 — original guilty-plea sentence and court evidence.
• Irish Independent, 22 June 2017 — Court of Appeal outcome.
• TheJournal.ie, 22 June 2017 — nationality, prior-history and appeal reporting.
• The Bar Review, December 2017 — legal update recording DPP v Krol.
• Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2024 — prison-system context.
• Oireachtas written answer, 20 May 2025 — staffed-space cost benchmark.

Record checked: 31 July 2026. The victim remains unnamed. Court findings, the DPP’s appeal and contemporary reporting are identified separately.