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Ziaullhaq Safi: a vulnerable child trapped behind a locked door

Ziaullhaq Safi beckoned two girls into a dark Sligo alley and brought them behind a locked door. He overpowered and sexually assaulted a vulnerable 16-year-old, then gave her pizza and winked at her.

Published 31 July 2026 · Remigration Ireland case ledger
16Victim’s age
8 minutesReported assault
2 convictionsJury verdicts
6 yearsSentence

Beckoned into a dark alley

On 23 April 2023, the girl and a friend encountered Safi beside the Sligo takeaway where he worked. He beckoned them into an alley off Wine Street and brought them behind a locked door.

The jury heard that Safi forcibly kissed the complainant, pulled up her top, sexually assaulted her and exposed himself while she resisted and told him to stop. Her friend was present during the eight-minute attack. The complainant later said she was scared, panicked and thought she might be kidnapped, raped or killed.

Safi then brought her into his workplace, gave her pizza and winked. The prosecution said the food was remuneration for sexual exploitation. The case was supported by a specialist Garda interview, photographs, CCTV, the complainant’s evidence and testimony from 13 witnesses.

A jury convicted him on both counts

After a three-week trial, the jury unanimously convicted Safi on 13 March 2026 of sexual assault and providing remuneration to a child for sexual exploitation. He continued to deny the offences after conviction.

Judge Roderick Maguire found that the assault was invasive and sustained. The child was overpowered and confined behind a closed door. Her age, vulnerabilities and intoxication magnified her vulnerability. Although the judge found the incident was not planned, force was used and mitigation was limited.

On 13 April 2026, Safi received six years for sexual assault and a concurrent four years and three months for the exploitation offence. He had been in custody since the jury verdict. He had no previous convictions.

What the victim carried away

By the sentencing process the complainant was 19. Her victim-impact statement described sleeplessness, flashbacks, nightmares and suicidal thoughts. She said she could not look at herself in the mirror and that Safi had stolen her innocence. The judge said she was facing a lifetime of healing.

The court also heard that three licensed premises had served alcohol to the underage girl that day. Judge Maguire said gardaí should consider that fact when those premises sought licence renewals. It does not lessen Safi’s responsibility for the convictions.

Refugee and family-reunification history

Court reporting identifies Safi as Afghan and states that he had refugee status. The defence said he had taught children in Afghanistan, was persecuted by the Taliban, lost his father and saw the family home burned. He later reunited with his wife and children in Ireland through family-reunification procedures.

That background was mitigation placed before the court. It did not prevent conviction or custody. The reports reviewed do not give Safi’s arrival date, the precise legal decision granting status, any revocation process, a deportation order or a removal outcome. None is invented.

Chronology

Public-cost benchmark

Six nominal custodial years at the Irish Prison Service’s 2024 average annual cost of an available, staffed prison space, €99,072, produce a gross benchmark of approximately €594,432.

This is arithmetic, not a Safi-specific invoice. Actual cost depends on custody credited, remission, release arrangements and future annual rates. It excludes the Garda investigation and specialist interview, three-week trial, prosecution, courts, interpreter, legal aid, victim support and counselling. No case-specific totals were published.

Sources

Record checked: 31 July 2026. No published appeal, protection-status review or immigration-enforcement outcome was located.