Street assault victim had his jaw broken in two places
A 25-year-old man who broke the jaw of another young man in two places in an unprovoked assault in the centre of Sligo has been given a four year suspended jail term and ordered to pay his victim €22,000 compensation.
The money is in addition to €8,000 which Stephen Robinson of First Sea Road, Sligo has already handed over to his victim, Niall Gallagher whom he had assaulted at Grattan Street on April 21st 2014.
The men were not known to each other and Mr Gallagher had told Robinson to go away after he began hassling a cousin of his as they tried to get a taxi home in the early house of the morning.
After the assault, Robinson left the scene when his girlfriend came and collected him. He later skipped to Australia as the case came before the Circuit Court but on a later date returned with €5,000 for his victim.
A further €3,000 was produced at the Circuit Court last week but Judge Keenan Johnson said it wasn’t enough and pointed out that if it was a civil case the compensation would be set at around €75,000.
Judge Keenan Johnson said he was satisfied that the assault ranked at the upper end of assault causing harm.
He ordered Robinson to pay the €22,000 in four yearly instalments of €5,000 and a final one of €2,000 and imposed a four year jail term, suspended for six years.
Judge Johnson told Robinson’s defending counsel, Keith O’Grady that his client, a father of one, was lucky to be walking out of the court and he was only doing so in order that the victim could be compensated in the absence of a criminal compensation scheme in this country.
The court was told by Ms Dara Foynes BL with State Solicitor Mr Hugh Sheridan that Mr Gallagher, a student at the time, had gone to the Four Lanterns for food after a night out during the Easter holidays and met his cousin, Laura, there and who was on her own and was upset.
He didn’t want to leave her on her own so they walked in the direction of Castle Street to get a taxi when a tall, thin young man approached and began to hassle his cousin.
Mr Gallagher said this man began to pull at his cousin so he stepped in and told him to back off.
The defendant then asked him “who the f *** do you think you are?” before punching him in the face which knocked him to the ground. Mr Gallagher then received further kicks to the face.
Robinson was subsequently questioned by Gardaí and he took responsibility. He stated that he finished work at 11pm and went drinking . He said his memory was impaired and that he couldn’t remember how the incident had started with the victim. He recalled being dragged away by his girlfriend and her driving him home. He knew he had been involved in something. He said he was really sorry and genuinely felt badly about it.
In his Victim Impact Report which was read to the court, Mr Gallagher said he had been kicked a number of times until he blacked out. He reported the matter to Gardaí before going to Sligo University Hospital where he was advised to go to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry for treatment and he underwent surgery on April 22nd where two titanium plates and screws were inserted in his jaw. He was discharged the next day.
He spent a number of weeks subsequently on a liquid diet. He said the incident could not have come at a worse time as he was studying for his final exams. He could not study for two weeks and had been aiming for a 2:1 degree but ended up getting a 2:2.
He has been told by doctors that there may be some nerve damage and that he may have numbness in his chin forever. This was particularly felt on cold mornings.
The idea of being assaulted again restricted his life and said his attacker ccould have killed him. “He did leave me for dead,” said Mr Gallagher. The court heard the defendant had previous road traffic convictions and one under the Public Order Act.
Mr Keith O’Grady BL with Mr Gerard McGovern, solicitor (defending), said there had been an acceptance of full responsibility from the start.
Mr O’Grady said he knew the defendant had not helped matters by leaving the jurisdiction in the early stages.
Mr O’Grady said that at the time of the assault, the defendant was flirting with the court system and the Gardaí
“He hasn’t come to the notice of the Gardaí since but it is accepted he was out of the jurisdiction for a considerable extent of that time,” said Mr O’Grady.
The court heard that after going to Australia he then went to the UK.
Judge Johnson said it was a very serious offence. It warranted the imposition of a substantial custodial sentence but it this was done this would not improve the position of the victim who had an appalling vista to endure.
He had a defective bite and his exams had suffered. He was till suffering three years on from the assault, said the Judge.
The case once again illustrated the lack of a criminal compensation scheme in this country for victims of serious crime.
“Society should be compensating victims of serious, life changing crime. We spend a fortune on incarcerating people at €75,000 a year but what good would that be for the victim in this case. Wouldn’t the €75,000 be better off in his pocket?” asked the Judge.
He said he wasn’t reducing the period of the suspended sentence from four years as the defendant had skipped bail.