The Court of Appeal has quashed the sentences imposed on Michael Kaiser for two assaults in Naas and resentenced him to concurrent terms of three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment, suspending the final 12 months of each sentence on the original conditions.
The court ruled on 12 July 2018 that the original sentences were unduly lenient because the sentencing judge had set headline terms of two-and-a-half years, which the appeal court found significantly below the appropriate range. The Director of Public Prosecutions had applied under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 for a review of the sentences.
Kaiser had been convicted by a jury of burglary and assault causing harm. The offences arose from events at the Ivy Inn in Naas on 1 July 2016. The appeal judgment recounted evidence that Kaiser and a co-offender entered the pub kitchen without permission and attacked chef Piotr Pjorczyk. The judgment said a mop was used as a weapon and that Kaiser kicked and punched Pjorczyk as the men left.
Off-duty Garda James Keating followed the men towards the car park after hearing about the kitchen attack. The court heard that Kaiser punched Keating after identifying himself as a Garda, causing him to fall and suffer a head wound. Keating’s victim impact statement described continuing headaches, other symptoms and time away from work. Pjorczyk’s statement described a fractured bone in his left hand, other injuries, lost income and medical expenses.
The Court of Appeal said both offences involved serious culpability and significant harm. It identified the mop as an aggravating factor in the kitchen assault and Keating’s public duty as an aggravating factor in the second assault. It said the appropriate headline sentences were in the range of three-and-a-half to four years for each offence.
The court also found that the original sentencing decision appeared to place excessive weight on Kaiser’s supposed co-operation, which the appeal court said was little or none. It nevertheless accepted that his previous good character, employment history and personal adversities merited consideration, and found that a 12-month reduction adequately reflected the available mitigation.
The court ordered the new sentences to run concurrently and gave Kaiser credit for time already served. It retained the original suspension conditions. It declined to make a further reduction to account for the hardship of returning to prison, noting that Kaiser had re-entered Ireland in breach of a ministerial removal order requiring him to remain outside the State for two years.