Man avoids jail again after two vicious assaults
A VIOLENT t hug has escaped jail for a second time despite being convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend.
Danielle Kerrigan criticised the courts yesterday over the sentencing of Eamon Harkin.
The 23-year-old was subjected to a horrific ordeal after Harkin, 24, relentlessly beat her up for 90 minutes and left a shoe print on her body, only halting his attack to take a drink of water.
I n November last year, he
‘Women find it hard to speak out’
escaped j ail f or the 2010 St Valentine’s Day attack and had his two-year prison term substituted to 240 hours’ community service.
He spent just two weeks in jail on remand awaiting his sentence.
Last Friday he escaped jail again, despite attacking her boyfriend William O’Donnell at her home in November 2010.
Yesterday, Miss Kerrigan, who has a son with Harkin, told the Irish Daily Mail that she feels totally let down by the justice system.
‘I have to say that my experience of the courts has not been good in my opinion. Women find it hard to speak out – but you have to stand up to bullies. We went to the District Court this time and we knew ourselves he wasn’t going to go to jail but we are glad that we got him convicted.’
Last Friday Harkin was fined €250 for assault on Mr O’Donnell and €200 for failing to give his name and address to gardaí.
The former butcher of St Eunan’s Terrace in Raphoe, Co. Donegal, was also bound to keep the peace for two years.
He had denied the assault at Letterkenny District Court.
Ms Kerrigan, from Flaxfields, Convoy, said yesterday that the only thing that has got her through her ordeal has been the support of the local people of Donegal.
‘Their support has been one of the things that has got us through these past three years,’ she said.
After Harkin’s initial sentencing hearing last November, Ms Kerrigan confronted Judge John O’Hagan, she has revealed.
‘I did ask Judge O’Hagan after my court case in November about the sentence,’ she said.
‘He told me that he felt 240 hours’ community service was enough for the crime as well as Mr Harkin doing two weeks in jail.’
In her victim impact statement, Ms Kerrigan had said t hat sometimes she finds it hard to look at her son as he reminds her of Harkin.