Teen to pay fine for assault which left victim on life support

By Claire Henry

A 17-year-old has been handed a €1,000 fine for an assault which resulted in a teenager being hospitalised for nine days.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to a single count of assault causing harm at an address in Dublin on November 27, 2021. He was 16 years old at the time of the incident.

He was one previous conviction for having no car insurance.

Passing sentence last Friday, Judge Pauline Codd said, “This is a serious charge to which he has pleaded guilty to”.

She said, “The aggravating factor is the serious injuries sustained by the injured party, which left him in a coma for nine days”.

Judge Codd said the court is struck by the generosity of the injured party, who requested leniency for the accused.

The judge said that in light of the injuries, if the accused were an adult, she would consider imposing a sentence of four years.

She said there was a very positive probation report, and the accused had demonstrated remorse and insight.

He is now distancing himself from the anti-social behaviour of his past.

Judge Codd said that in light of the probation report, which said he is at low risk of reoffending and the attitude of the injured party, “I will impose a fine of €1000, which is to be paid on or before October of this year”.

Judge Codd also said she wanted to “commend the injured party in his attitude”.

Detective Garda Michael Curtin told Jane McCudden, BL, prosecuting, that on the day in question, the accused, a co-accused, and the injured party were in the home of the accused when a fight broke out.

The accused hit the injured party, and the fight split onto the street. Some of this was captured on CCTV. The co-accused’s mother also struck the injured party six times.

Det Gda Curtin said the injured party began to walk towards his house and was chased by the accused and the co-accused.

Part of the assault was not captured on CCTV but screaming could be heard.

A witness told gardai she believed she could hear the injured party being hit but did not see it.

When she walked outside, she saw the accused walking away from the injured party, who was still being hit by the co-accused.

The court heard that the injured party’s father found him unresponsive on the couch in their home.

He called an ambulance, and the father took photos of the injuries while waiting on the ambulance to arrive.

These photos were handed into the court.

A medical report from a consultant in Emergency Medicine said that the injured boy was seen immediately due to his low level of consciousness.

He was intubated and transferred to radiology for multiple CT scans of the head and spine. The court heard that the injured party has now made a full physical recovery.

A victim impact statement was read to the court, which said, “In November 2021, I was assaulted and spent nine days in hospital on life support”.

The boy went on to say that “I don’t feel scared or threatened by him [the accused], and I don’t feel he should get a custodial sentence”.

“I would like to ask the judge to consider this while sentencing and give him a chance”.

Det Gda Curtin agreed with Kieran Kelly, BL, defending, that his client promptly engaged with the gardai and that the injured party is forgiving and has made a recommendation to the court towards sentencing.

The garda agreed with counsel that there is no issue now between the accused and the injured party.

Mr Kelly said his client regrets his actions and offers his apologies which are genuine to the injured party.

Counsel said his client did have issues and was beginning to go wayward at the time.

He said he has now completed a course and would like to continue working in this area.