WOMAN DESCRIBES HOW HER LIFE IS IN 'TURMOIL' AFTER SEXUAL ASSAULT
2026-03-02 13:35: A man received a prison sentence of more than six years following a sexual assault on a woman.David Walsh, 41 years old from Gabalfa in Cardiff, was given a sentence of six years and six months at Cardiff Crown Court on October 10.
The court found him guilty of a single count of sexual assault on a woman and two counts of assault involving penetration of a female aged 13 or over with a part of his body or an object.
This case highlights the serious consequences of sexual offenses and underscores the court’s commitment to prosecuting such crimes effectively.
--------------------------- 2025-10-19 17:39: David Walsh, 41, of Cardiff, assaulted his victim by performing oral sex upon her after she had passed out from drinking alcohol.
He also penetrated her with his fingers on two occasions.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard the victim made a complaint to the police and the defendant was arrested.
Walsh, of Treseder Way, Trowbridge, was disbelieved by a jury and was convicted of two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault, following a trial.
In a victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Thomas Stanway, the victim said she had attended a bridge twice, with the intention of taking her own life.
She described her life being in "turmoil" and feeling "sick to her stomach" after her assailant denied his offences.
The victim said she had been studying for a degree for a decade but as a result of the sexual assaults, she will no longer be able to pursue the career she had worked so hard for.
She added: "The financial implications have affected me massively, I am unable to hold a job down...
I have been signed off from work due to anxiety.
The incident has taken my independence away.
Having my dream career taken away from me and not being able to work is heartbreaking." The victim said she has undergone therapy but no longer feels safe, struggles to sleep and suffers "flashbacks of the assaults." She said: "I am regularly severely depressed, on two occasions I ended up on (a roundabout) and my husband had to call me off to stop me from jumping.
It sickens me, I would never have been in this position before all because of what he did to me.
I feel so angry...
Standing on that bridge would never have happened if the defendant hadn't assaulted me that night.
I have lost all confidence in my life and body confidence.
I suffer with shaking as if I have Parkinson's.
It happens when I'm watching TV at home and anxiety washes all over me...
Some days I feel like I need to be cared for like a child...
An independent person should not need other people to complete daily tasks...
The only word I can use to describe this is excruciating.
It sickens me down to my stomach (the defendant) thought what he had done was acceptable and for him to deny what he did while my life has been in turmoil really hurts." The court heard Walsh has three previous convictions for offences including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, battery, and dangerous driving.
In mitigation, Christopher Evans argued the victim had not suffered "severe psychological harm".
He said his client has two children and resides with his sister, whose children he helps to support by contributing to bills.
Sentencing, Judge Greg Bull said the offences committed by the defendant were "pretty serious" and there were a number of "aggravating factors".
Walsh was sentenced to six years and six months imprisonment.
He was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements indefinitely and a restraining order for 20 years.
