Father and two daughters avoid jail after their attack on two women was posted on social media

By Sonya McLean

A man and his two daughters have been given suspended sentences after a video recording of the sisters beating two women was shared on social media.

Michael Lawrence (55) filmed his daughter Jessica Maughan (28) attacking her own mother-in-law Mary Maughan (65) as the older woman was leaving a doctor’s appointment.

He also recorded his other daughter Marie Stokes (31) attacking Mary’s daughter, Rosie, while Rosie was sitting in her car waiting to pick up her mother.

The court heard that although the women have physically recovered from the attack, they still suffer psychologically due to the humiliation of the attacks being posted on YouTube and subsequently viewed 3,500 times.

Lawrence and Maughan, both of Rathvilly Drive, Finglas, Dublin 11 and Stokes of Archers Wood, Clonee, Dublin 15 pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting causing harm on September 30, 2021.

Sarah Jane O’Callaghan BL defending Lawrence, asked the court to accept that her client never posted the recordings to social media and wouldn’t even know how to upload the material.

She said her client is “utterly ashamed” of his behaviour.

She said there had been difficulties in Jessica Maughan’s marriage with the victim’s son.

The man had walked out on his daughter.

They had four children together and she was pregnant with their fifth child at the time.

“He felt his daughter had been dishonoured which led to the irrational madness that came over him,” Ms O’Callaghan said.

Counsel accepted that her client’s decision to record the attack was “strange” and acknowledged that he can be heard clearly encouraging both his daughters to beat the women.

She described that behaviour as “depraved”.

She handed in a number of references into court, which described Lawrence as a good neighbour who goes to Mass every day.

She said her client had €1,000 to offer the victims but they did not wish to accept the money.

Ms O’Callaghan said “society will look at the video and say my client deserves a custodial sentence” but she asked the court to accept that Lawrence got involved in a misguided way to defend his daughter.

Judge Martin Nolan said the family’s motivation for the attack was “known only to them” before he described the assault as “disgraceful” and “vicious”.

“Obviously they had their reasons but it is not acceptable to behave in this way. The situation was aggravated and the humiliation of the victims greatly increased by the footage going on social media,” Judge Nolan continued.

Having heard evidence last Wednesday he adjourned to this morning for sentence.

Judge Nolan had remanded Marie Stokes and Michael Lawrence in custody pending sentence but allowed Jessica Maughan to remain on bail.

He said today that he had decided not to imprison the father and two daughters before he imposed a two-year suspended sentence on each of them.

“If this is repeated again, or anything like it, it would be brought back to court and you will go to jail – these two ladies didn’t deserve what you did,” Judge Nolan said addressing Lawrence, Maughan and Stokes directly.

He also ordered that they each hand over €1,000 to the investigating garda which he said was to be passed on to a charity in the area where he was stationed after he acknowledged that neither of the victims want to accept the money.

Sergeant Hugh O’Carroll told Emmet Nolan BL, prosecuting, that Mary Maughan was leaving a medical centre following an appointment when Jessica Maughan came running towards her, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her onto the ground.

She continued to punch, scrape and pinch the woman’s face.

Witnesses heard Michael Lawrence shout “give it to her Jessica, give it to her” but he eventually told his daughter that “was enough”.

At the same time, Marie Stokes approached Rosie Maughan while she sat in her car waiting to pick up her mother.

She then felt hands grabbing at her and pulling her hair.

Marie Stokes had her pinned in the car and she couldn’t escape. The woman continued to pull her hair.

Mary Maughan later received stitches to her face at Blanchardstown Hospital. She also had other cuts to her face.

Lawrence, Maughan and Stokes were later arrested after witness statements and CCTV led to them being nominated as suspects.

Sgt O’Carroll confirmed that nothing of assistance to the investigation came of their interviews.

Stephen Montgomery BL, defending Jessica Maughan, said his client’s children were all under the age of ten.

She had spent some time in custody while her youngest child was a very young baby and the child refused to take a bottle for any person other than his mother.

The baby was later admitted to Temple Street and had a feeding tube fitted.

He said his client’s marriage to Mary Maughan’s son was “troubled from the start”.

Eoin Lawlor BL, defending Marie Stokes, said his client had written a letter of apology to the victims and had €1,000 in court as a token of her remorse.

She has six children.