SENTENCING STATEMENTS

Upon sentencing, Judge Watson made the following remarks:

"Ewa Nosalska you have pled guilty to the crime of sexual assault in that on 19 September 2023 at a flat in Glasgow you assaulted your victim by touching his penis and masturbating him both when he was asleep and clearly unable to consent, and without his consent when he awoke.

"The circumstances were that the victim of your attack was someone known to your then partner who was a visitor to your house that night. You victim fell asleep on a sofa in the living room. There appears to have been no suggestion of any sexual contact or anything remotely indicating any future likelihood of this. He awoke from his sleep to find you naked and masturbating his penis. He was shouting 'no' to you and telling you to stop and challenging you, asking what you were doing. It appears that your then partner came into the room, following which you left the premises. I am told that in a later interview by police you admitted engaging in this conduct knowing that the victim of it was asleep. It appears also that you were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the commission of this crime.

"Counsel on your behalf submits that I should look at the period of abstinence now and at what seems to be stability in your mental health, coupled with a period without further offending.  I do have regard to all these matters and take them into account.

"While this is an unusual case, it is not uncommon for this court to deal with matters in which men sexually abuse sleeping females for their own gratification. This court will always regard such behaviour as being particularly serious. I am satisfied that simply because the sexes are reversed here that is no reason why the court should take any different approach in this case. Academic research indicates that males who are subject to sexual assault by females are likely to suffer an equivalent psychological trauma to female victims. I therefore intend to treat this in exactly the same way I would have had it been a male who sexually assaulted a sleeping female.

"I am bound to impose a sentence that meets the needs of punishment, public protection and deterrence as well as rehabilitation. I have regard to your previous criminal record. You have engaged in recent years in various delinquent acts. You have a record which discloses a number of convictions for matters of assault and public disorder and also for offending while on bail. I am also informed that you recently served a sentence of 13 months imprisonment in relation to matters which included a sexual assault on a 14-year-old boy, albeit I am informed that that matter occurred after the commission of the present episode. While I accept that may be a matter which does not pre-date the present case, nevertheless it feeds into any assessment of potential risk and the need for deterrence.

"I consider that the crime in this case was aggravated by the fact that your victim was asleep at the time and so was particularly vulnerable, having entrusted his safety to you and your then partner. It is also aggravated by the fact that you were subject to conditions of bail at the time, conditions which you flagrantly breached. I also take into account the terms of the criminal justice social work report which has been prepared. This does not make happy reading. I am informed by the writer of the report that you claim to have been so drunk at the time that you have no recollection of your conduct. The writer also reports that you fail to accept any responsibility for your behaviour and show no insight into the effect your conduct is likely to have had upon the victim.

"In these circumstances I would have considered an appropriate headline sentence in this case to be one of 2 years imprisonment, of which 6 months would properly reflect the bail aggravation. I would, in fact, have considered a higher index sentence to be appropriate were it not for the fact that your recent prison sentence may have, to some extent, already contributed to the required element of deterrence, an important issue given your recent, repeated and disinhibited criminal behaviour.

"I do however take account of the fact that you have accepted your guilt and pled guilty to this charge without the need for trial, and without putting the victim through the further humiliation of being examined as a witness. Accordingly I am prepared to apply a discount of 3 months to the headline sentence and so determine the appropriate disposal as 21 months imprisonment from today.

"I must also notify you that, as a consequence of the sentence imposed, you will be subject to registration in terms of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for a period of 10 years."

27 July 2026