Teenager who attacked another youth with a claw hammer has been jailed for a year

By Sonya McLean

A teenager who beat the back of the head of another teenager with a claw hammer after a group of youths had gathered in a public park for a “one-on-one” has been jailed for a year.

Witnesses saw the then 16-year-old strike the victim approximately five times on his head, as the victim was sitting on another youth he had been wrestling with.

It was estimated that about 30 youths had gathered for what appeared to be an arranged fight, with people hearing the group saying it is a “one-on-one” any time a third person tried to get involved with the two that had been scuffling.

Garda Stephen Allen told George Burns BL, prosecuting, that after the teenager was dragged off the victim by the other youths and the whole group fled the area leaving the victim seriously injured with open wounds to the back of his head.

When gardaí arrived at the scene, having received an emergency call from witnesses to the assault, the victim was conscious and alert but in a very distressed state.

His mother was contacted and he was taken to Beaumont Hospital for treatment.

The victim was found to have two depressed skull fractures but there was no haemorrhaging in his brain or any other injuries to his brain.

He was also found to have further skull fractures, with five open wounds that required up to 30 stitches to close them.

Dean Kelly SC, defending, acknowledged that this was a case “of profoundly anti-social and violent behaviour” and that the serious violence used by his client could have led to a fatality.

The now 21-year-old man, who cannot be named because he was a juvenile at the time of the offence and the time he was charged, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm at a local park on May 19, 2020.

He has previous convictions for road traffic offences including dangerous driving.

A victim impact statement, prepared by the victim’s mother, was handed into court but not read out.

In sentencing the man yesterday Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin addressed the victim’s mother who was watching the court proceedings via video link, having imposed a term of two years with the final year suspended.

“I acknowledged that this seems like a small price to be paid,” she said before she said that she realises that the woman’s son will be suffering a long time after his attacker has been released from prison.

She stressed that the courts do not operate on “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” adding that punishment is not the only thing that the courts must take into account.

She said she also must consider “reform, rehabilitation and re-integration into society”.

“I recognise that your son’s life has been altered but I have to give him a chance to reform,” Judge Ní Chúlacháin said.

She said she really hopes that the victim does not develop the future potential medical consequences he could as a result of the injuries he sustained.

Addressing the accused man, she acknowledged that he had recently lost his brother and sympathised with him, saying “He was your big brother and you loved him”.

She further acknowledged that the man has since addressed many issues and although he still uses cannabis on a daily basis, he is engaging very well with a local community group.

“But this was a planned fight to which you brought a claw hammer,” the judge said adding that it was “calculated and deliberate” and that he had struck the victim repeatedly.

“That is not a reasonable response to a perceived threat.” Judge Ní Chúlacháin said, acknowledging that the man believed that the victim posed a threat to his own friend that afternoon.

She also referred to the fact that the then teenager left the scene after the attack.

“You came armed, there were repeated blows and you left the scene,” the judge continued.

Judge Ní Chúlacháin also acknowledged from the victim impact statement the consequences for the victim.

She noted that as result of the injuries sustained and as a further precaution, he has been advised to no longer participate in contact sports.

The judge noted that the victim impact statement, prepared by the victim’s mother. stated that her son’s “confident and carefree” life has been “defeated” and he now suffers with low self-worth and low self-esteem.

She said the victim impact statement said the then teenager was “always at his happiest on the pitch” and that his childhood dreams of potentially playing rugby for Leinster or even Ireland “have been stolen from him”.

Judge Ní Chúlacháin noted that the victim has even been advised that his car insurance could be impacted in the future and he has been advised not to go on long haul flights.

She set a headline sentence of three years and four months before she took a number of mitigating factors into account including the plea of guilty, the accused’s continued support from his family and his difficult childhood.

Judge Ní Chúlacháin also accepted that the man has shown potential for rehabilitation and has accepted full responsibility for his actions, acknowledging the impact his actions not only had on the victim, his family and friends but also the people who witnessed the attack in the park that day.

She said she must impose a custodial term before she suspended the final 12 months of the two-year sentence. She warned the man that if he comes to the attention of the gardaí during the suspended term she would not hesitate in reactivating the term and he would be going straight back to jail.

Gda Allen said gardaí gathered CCTV footage and subsequently took witness statements for all the juveniles that were present that afternoon.

Two gardaí identified the accused as the culprit.

He was later also spotted on CCTV footage on a DART station close to the park.

He can be seen on the footage taking a claw hammer out of his sock before placing it in the waist band of his trousers.

The accused’s home was searched in May 2020 and clothing recovered from the house matched that on the CCTV footage.

The teenager was arrested and interviewed in January 2021 but made no comment when the CCTV footage was put to him.

Gda Allen told Mr Burns that although the victim has recovered very well from his physical injuries, he suffers from anxiety following the attack.

It is understood that he may develop epilepsy in the future so as a precaution he no longer takes part in sports.

Gda Allen accepted a submission by Mr Kelly that it was “no thanks to my client but he (the victim) was extraordinarily lucky to have made the recovery he has made”.

Mr Kelly said his client wished to express his remorse and shame.

He said a report from the Probation Service concluded that he has engaged fully and properly and has acknowledged the physical and psychological impact his assault had on the victim and his family.

He said his client and his mother had been victims of violence in their home at the hands of his father who had a serious drug habit.

His father later left the family home.

Counsel said at the time of the assault the teenager’s life was “characterised by drift” and drug and alcohol use was part of his every day life. He had been expelled from school.

Mr Kelly said his client has since made “serious progress” and relied on both a report from the Probation Service and a community programme which he has significantly engaged with to prove this submission.

Counsel acknowledged that one could “wallpaper the walls of these courtrooms with empty promises” before he submitted to the court that this was not the case with his client.

He said his mother is a stable and supportive presence in his life who has “constantly supported and encouraged” him, but counsel pointed out that the woman “does not condone” what her son has done.

Mr Kelly said his client has engaged with the community programme since 2021, only taking breaks from it to take up periods of employment, returning to re-engaging when those periods of work come to an end.

Following his plea-in-mitigation Mr Kelly accepted, following a query from Judge Ní Chúlacháin after she had reviewed documentation presented to the court, that his client continues to use cannabis on a daily basis.