Bannerton’s assault sentence appeal dismissed

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Irish Court of Appeal dismissed the State’s sentence review concerning Bannerton’s assault causing serious harm and assault causing harm convictions, reported on 21 July 2022.

Bannerton pleaded guilty to both charges on 27 July 2020. The offences arose from two separate assaults in the early hours of 15 June 2019 in a city centre.

The sentence was six years’ imprisonment for assault causing serious harm, with the final 18 months suspended for five years, and two years’ imprisonment for assault causing harm. The sentences were concurrent.

The Court accepted the sentences as within the expected range and found that the suspension, supported by probation and psychiatric reports, was justified to encourage rehabilitation. It held that the sentence was lenient but did not represent a substantial departure warranting intervention.