The Court of Appeal has replaced suspended sentences imposed on four men who pleaded guilty to assault causing harm with prison terms of 12 or 14 months, after finding the original sentences unduly lenient.
The judgment, delivered on 25 June 2015, followed applications by the Director of Public Prosecutions under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993. The court said the original sentencing judge had correctly assessed the seriousness of the assaults as warranting a four-year sentence before mitigation, but had given too much weight to mitigating circumstances by imposing wholly suspended sentences.
The men—Daniel Phelan, David Leonard, David Skeffington and Nico Barrett—had each pleaded guilty in June 2013 to one count of assault causing harm. The maximum penalty was five years’ imprisonment.
The assaults occurred in Charlestown, County Mayo, on 3 July 2012. The court said the men followed Garda members Gary Kenneally and Ciara Sheehan after verbal abuse outside a late bar. At The Square, Leonard knocked Sheehan to the ground. When Kenneally tried to help her, Phelan kicked him in the face; several attackers then kicked Kenneally, who was knocked unconscious. The judgment said the sentencing judge and appeal court were satisfied the attackers knew the two people they targeted were Garda members, although they were off duty.
In October 2014, the sentencing judge indicated an intention to impose suspended sentences with community service, then adjourned for assessments. On 31 October, he imposed three-year sentences, all suspended, with conditions and community service ranging from 120 to 240 hours. The appeal court said custodial sentences could not have been avoided given the seriousness of the assaults.
The appeal court set a two-year term for each man after allowing a 50 per cent reduction for shared mitigating factors, including guilty pleas and the absence of relevant previous convictions for violent crimes. It then made individual reductions. Phelan and Leonard received 12-month terms, with the court citing their conduct since the Circuit Court proceedings and rehabilitation. Barrett received 14 months, reflecting the court’s view that he instigated the events and had since been in trouble, while also taking account of personal adversities and his substance and alcohol problems. Skeffington received 12 months, with the court citing rehabilitation and personal circumstances.
The judgment states that these were the sentences imposed on review and does not specify in the excerpt when the terms were to be served.