The Court of Appeal has resentenced Sean O’Dea for two assaults in a Dublin hotel room, finding that the sentencing judge gave undue weight to aggravating factors. It imposed concurrent prison terms of three and a half years, with the final 18 months suspended for three years after release, subject to conditions.
O’Dea had pleaded guilty and was convicted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 9 February 2016 of two assaults and producing an article capable of inflicting serious injury. The third offence was taken into consideration. The sentencing judge imposed terms of three and a half years and three years for the assaults on 21 April 2016. O’Dea appealed those sentences.
The Court of Appeal heard that on 21 September 2013 O’Dea forced his way into a room at the Radisson Hotel in Dublin 2, armed with a metal wheel brace. The two men in the room, Mr O’Meara and Mr Hadi, were assaulted. O’Meara was hit several times on the head with the brace and had a glass smashed over his head. Hadi was struck with the brace and suffered a cut lip from broken glass.
The judgment said O’Dea had been told that a woman described as his then on-and-off girlfriend alleged Hadi had raped her earlier. Hadi was arrested and interviewed, but there was ultimately no prosecution. The appeal court accepted there was, in general terms, an element of provocation and pressure from O’Dea’s female companion to act aggressively. It stressed that the violent attacks were completely unjustified. The court also noted the time between the allegation and the confrontation, and that O’Dea armed himself and entered the room by subterfuge.
Both victims suffered significant injuries. O’Meara was left with permanent scarring to his lip and forehead; Hadi had facial lacerations. The judgment recorded combined financial losses of €6,000, including €1,000 for hotel room damage. O’Dea had offered €10,000 compensation, which the victims declined.
The appeal court said the sentencing judge had not identified headline sentences before allowing for mitigation. It concluded that an apparent headline sentence of about five years showed undue weight had been given to aggravating factors, amounting to an error of principle. It said an appropriate headline term would have been about three and a half to four years for each assault.
The court resentenced O’Dea to three and a half years for each assault, concurrently, running from the date directed by the lower court. It suspended the final 18 months of both terms for three years after release, conditional on €10,000 being paid by or on behalf of O’Dea to a nominated charity within three months, with a receipt provided to the respondent within ten days of payment. He was also required to enter a €100 bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. The court considered prison testimonials, his achievements in custody and a positive Governor’s report.