A teenager who was sexually assaulted by her boss after finishing work has described seeing him finally jailed earlier this month as “surreal”.
Brooke Coleman was just 16 and working as a waitress in The Crossbar in Gurteen, Sligo, when publican Paul Baker, 38, attacked her. The terrifying incident occurred on the night between May 11, 2024, and May 12, 2024, after the teenager, Baker and another young barman stayed behind to have a few drinks and watch the Eurovision final – something Brooke’s parents never gave permission for.
The other barman left just before Baker pounced as Brooke was leaving to meet her dad, Damian, who was waiting to pick her up in the car park outside. On May 1, Sligo Circuit Court Judge Keenan Johnson jailed twisted Baker for 27 months for assaulting the teen. The brute is now behind bars in Castlerea Prison in Roscommon.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Irish Mirror, Brooke, who waived her right to anonymity, spoke about the impact the sexual assault has had on her life, her hope that other victims will have the confidence to speak out and why the entire court process needs to be overhauled.
Paul Baker outside The Crossbar in Gurteen, Sligo(Image: Handout)
When asked about the moment he was jailed and what she was feeling, the Leaving Certificate student, who is now 18 years old, said: “It was so surreal, like finally after two years.
“I don’t even know how to explain it. The happiness of knowing I’m not going to have to worry about him when I’m going down the village.”
She said seeing the handcuffs being placed on him was the moment that she realised justice had finally been served. Brooke explained: “My one hope was he wasn’t gonna get a suspended sentence”.
Dad Damian, who was also in court for the sentencing with his wife and Brooke’s mum Jessica, said: “Unfortunately, when the judge was passing sentence, he wasn’t brought to the box. He was sat in the public gallery beside his wife, right behind us. When the judge passed the custodial sentence, he had to walk up and sign his bond. As he was signing the bond, the prison officer came right up and stood beside Jessica.
“And then [Paul] turned around and came back and just put his two hands out. The clicking of the handcuffs going on him and the jingle jangling of that chain as he walked out of the courtroom, I don’t think that’ll ever leave me.”
Brooke Coleman from Gurteen Co. Sligo, with father Damien and mother Jessica.(Image: Philip Fitzpatrick)
The court heard that on the night of the sexual assault, Brooke’s dad, Damian, had texted her to say he was outside. The family house is located just 400 metres away from the pub.
Sergeant Helen Munnelly, who outlined the evidence against the brute, said that when Brooke went to walk out, Baker pulled the top of her shorts.
Sgt Munnelly continued and explained that Baker put his hand inside the victim’s shorts. Brooke told Sgt Munnelly that she did not feel she could turn to face Baker and that she fell to the floor to try to evade him. The court heard Baker put his hand down her shorts and sexually assaulted her three times.
Sgt Munnelly explained that the first assault lasted 30 seconds and that the second assault lasted 40 – 50 seconds. Each time, she fell to the floor to try to evade him. CCTV footage was also recovered, showing the incident at the bar.
Brooke said: “I never expected anything like that to ever happen … it was just a happy place to work.” When asked what was going through her mind during the attack, Brooke said: “I was just shocked and so confused.”
She continued: “When it was going on, all I could think about was getting myself out of the situation, and my main aim was to get out. At certain points, I could see my dad’s jeep outside the window, but (in the pub) you can see out, but you can’t see in the window. I had repeatedly said to him – ‘No, my dad’s outside.'”
Brooke Coleman(Image: Philip Fitzpatrick)
Brooke said in the immediate aftermath, she was still in a “state of shock,” and she racked her brain trying to come up with a reason why Baker did what he did.
She initially didn’t tell her parents what had happened, even though her dad knew something was off when he picked her up. Brooke explained it was her little sister’s communion the following day, and she didn’t want to take away her “limelight”. She confided in her parents on Monday, May 13, 2024 and her dad Damian rang the Gardai.
The dad-of-two, who believes the attack was premeditated and that his daughter was groomed, said: “It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, really. It’s not something that you can ever prepare for
“She was dropped to work most evenings. If she wasn’t dropped to work, she walked down during the brighter evenings, but she would have been collected every night from work.
“There was that sense of guilt initially where we had let her down, I hadn’t protected her enough. But as the judge said in the courtroom, there was nothing else that we could have done to have stopped what was happening.”
Brooke said Gardai launched an investigation within hours of her dad’s phone call. She said initially, everything moved very quickly. The clothes she was wearing were taken by the investigation team along with her phone. The following day, she was taken to a sexual assault treatment unit in Galway.
She explained: “In one sense, I felt like I was almost getting in trouble in the very beginning. “You know, being 16 and having your phone taken away from you and that sense of communication gone as well.”
Following the initial stages of the probe, everything slowed down. Brooke and her family had to wait more than a year before they found out that the Director of Public Prosecutions would charge him.
Paul Baker.
And it wasn’t until January of this year that he was formally arraigned and pleaded guilty, which avoided a trial. Speaking about the process, Brooke added: “I definitely think it should be maybe a bit more informative … It should be a bit quicker, I think.”
Brooke said her life was in limbo while Baker swanned about the village. She added: “He was able to live a free, normal life the past few years without anyone actually properly knowing what was going on.
“He pleaded guilty, and he was still roaming around free. No one else knew he had pleaded guilty, and he was still allowed to roam around living his best normal life up until two weeks ago.”
Contrasting that with her own life, Brooke said she has recurring nightmares about the attack, and she constantly sees Baker as he lived across the road from her grandparents.
In another incident, Brooke said she attended her sister’s school play, and Baker was there as well. She continued: “My fifth year was like the worst school year I’ve ever had. Every day was just replaying the thing in my head over and over again.
“I got to the point I was asking my dad if I could drop out of school. I always think back to how I was before it and how I am now and how much I’ve changed between the person I was then and the person that I am now.”
Brooke Coleman(Image: Philip Fitzpatrick)
Baker brought €10,000 in court but Brooke did not want it. Brooke suggested a number of charities it could be donated to but explained that Judge Johnson gave it back to Baker’s wife.
During sentencing, Judge Johnson said the aggravating factors were the age disparity, that it was a gross breach of trust, a serious violation of the victim’s bodily integrity and had a negative impact on the victim.
But in mitigation, the judge noted that Baker had no previous convictions, that he was deemed at a low risk of re-offending and that he had a good work history. He also said the defendant’s guilty plea saved the State and the victim going through a trial. Baker was sentenced to three years in prison with the final nine months suspended.
When asked why she decided to speak out, Brooke said: “I wanted to go public with my story because in one sense I’m not embarrassed about what happened, it wasn’t my fault and I want other people to come forward and feel confident enough in themselves to speak out about it because I know it’s not an easy thing to do. It needs to happen.”
For the first time in two years, Brooke can now fully focus on her Leaving Certificate next month. She said life is “lighter” now. Her main concern at present is whether she wants to study English and Religion in DCU or go down the path of teaching art. She is also planning on doing a charity skydive in aid of Youth Suicide Prevention Ireland.
Donations can be made here: https://skydive.yspi.ie/brookecoleman