Trio jailed after brutal assault on their friend

THREE young men who took part in a “sustained, persistent and repeated” attack on their teenage friend in a flat in Belfast were sentenced for the assault yesterday.

The victim, who was 17 at the time of the May 2019 attack, was stripped naked, beaten unconscious and left in a lifeless state in a bath in an incident branded “a grotesque orgy of violence”.

The attack happened on May 3, 2019 after all four had been drinking and taking drugs.

Footage of a portion of the prolonged attack which took place in Ulidia House was also recorded on a mobile phone, as were images of the bloodied and battered victim, which were then sent to other young people.

This footage were distributed to a number of contacts on Clarke’s phone. In a series of text messages, Clarke said he “went nuts” and beat the teen for “meeting his girl”. A female friend said the teen was a child and told Clarke to wake him up. Clarke said “he’s dead”, and when asked if he was being serious, Clarke replied: “Yeah.”

The teenager was rushed to hospital where he was intubated and remained in a coma in intensive care. He sustained multiple, serious injuries including a bleed on the brain, a fractured nose, broken ribs, a wound to his upper lung and extensive swelling to his head and face. He also sustained slash wounds to an upper arm.

Despite the severe nature of his injuries, he regained consciousness a few days later and was discharged.

All three attackers — Geordie Brown (20), Dean Clarke (22) and Nathan Mccrory (20) — appeared at a remote hearing of Belfast Crown Court yesterday, where they were sentenced for causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Brown and Mccrory, who are both currently housed in Hydebank YOC, were each handed an eight-year sentence, with half to be served in custody.

Clarke, who was transferred from Hydebank to the Shannon secure unit at Knockbracken due to his mental health, was assessed as being a dangerous offender by the Probation Board and the court.

As such, he was also handed an eight-year sentence, but may not be automatically released on licence after serving half his sentence. Instead, he may serve the full eight years, and when released he will be on licence for a further three years.

As he sentenced all three men, Judge Stephen Fowler spoke of the “gratuitous degradation” inflicted on the teenager. The judge also branded the images and videos of the incident as “trophy photographs”.