Man accused of sexually assaulting roommate at homeless hostel

Kurtanet Umerov (58), an out-of-work chef, is alleged to have carried out the assault at a homeless hostel in Dublin.

He was granted bail despite garda objections and had his case adjourned at Dublin District Court.

Mr Umerov, with a current address at a north city centre hostel, is charged with sexually assaulting the man at another hostel on a date in October last year.

He is also accused of failing to appear in court on other dates.

The prosecuting garda said the accused was brought to Mountjoy station, where he replied when charged that he was falsely accused, saying: “this is not true... I am a sick man, I didn’t do anything wrong.”

To other charges he replied: “I was in hospital, I kept saying I couldn’t make it” and “yes, I was in hospital for seven months, which is why I didn’t turn up.”

The garda objected to bail, citing the seriousness of the allegations and his belief that Mr Umerov was a flight risk.

He said the accused was of no fixed address and there had been difficulties locating him to charge him.

Mr Umerov was a long-term alcoholic and a “frail and unwell man” and there was documentation to show he had been in hospital, defence solicitor Donal Quigley said.

He used to work as a chef until “alcoholism got the better of him.”

He had worked out of the state on a cruise ship but had been in the state for four years.

The court heard it was alleged the accused was staying at a hostel and sharing a room with another service user.

It was alleged the man “woke up and there was a hand down his trousers.”

Judge Smyth granted the accused bail in his own bond of €200 .