Slawomir Gierlowski came from Poland to live and work in Ireland in 2008. Between 2010 and 2016 he carried out five random attacks on women. DNA eventually joined the investigations, three juries convicted him and consecutive sentences produced an aggregate 34½-year custodial term.
A six-year series of attacks
The first recorded attack occurred on 18 December 2010. Gierlowski followed a woman into her apartment courtyard, pushed her down, choked and punched her, sexually assaulted her and attempted to rape her.
On 30 May 2011, he attacked a young mother in Ballymount Park and attempted to place an electrical flex around her neck. Three further attacks followed on 11 September 2011, 3 September 2015 and 16 May 2016. The offences across the cases included attempted rape, sexual assault, false imprisonment, assault and possession or production of weapons.
During the final attack, witnesses identified a van connected to Gierlowski. Gardaí found duct tape and cable ties inside. DNA taken after his 2016 arrest matched material preserved from earlier investigations, while fingerprints connected him to the park attack.
Three trials and consecutive terms
In March 2018, a jury unanimously convicted Gierlowski on nine charges concerning three women. The court imposed consecutive sentences totalling 22½ years, with the final four years suspended, leaving 18½ years immediate custody and nine years of post-release supervision.
A second jury unanimously convicted him in 2019 of attempted rape, sexual assault and assault causing harm arising from the 2010 attack. In September 2021, Mr Justice Michael White imposed ten more years consecutively, saying Gierlowski remained a serious threat to women and still refused to acknowledge his predatory conduct.
A third jury convicted him over the Ballymount Park attack. In October 2022, Judge Elma Sheahan added six consecutive years. RTÉ reported that the combined immediate term had reached 34½ years.
Appeals rejected
The Court of Appeal dismissed the challenge to his three-victim convictions in January 2021 and rejected the related sentence appeal in July that year. On 21 April 2026, it dismissed his appeal concerning the Ballymount Park prosecution in DPP v Gierlowski [2026] IECA 91.
No reliable public record of release, a prisoner transfer, deportation or an immigration-status decision was located. Polish nationality makes him an EU citizen; it does not by itself establish that removal is lawful or has been ordered.
Chronology
- 2008: Came from Poland to live and work in Ireland.
- 18 December 2010: Attempted rape, sexual assault and assault causing harm.
- 30 May 2011: Attacked a young mother in Ballymount Park.
- 2011–2016: Three further random attacks.
- June 2016: Arrested and remanded; DNA connected the investigations.
- March 2018: Unanimously convicted on nine charges concerning three women.
- 2019: Unanimously convicted over the 2010 attack.
- September 2021: Ten consecutive years added.
- October 2022: Six consecutive years added; aggregate custody reached 34½ years.
- 21 April 2026: Latest located appeal dismissed.
Cost benchmark
At the Irish Prison Service’s 2024 average annual cost of an available staffed prison space, the aggregate 34½-year custodial term benchmarks at approximately €3,417,984.
Questions the record leaves
- What review joined the earlier unsolved attacks after the 2016 DNA match?
- Could evidence from the 2010 and 2011 attacks have identified him sooner?
- What total investigation, trial, appeal and supervision costs has the State incurred?
- What risk-management plan will govern any eventual release?
- Has any prisoner-transfer or post-sentence removal assessment begun?