The Court of Appeal reduced Stephen O’Sullivan’s sentence for attempted robbery from five years’ imprisonment to four years, suspending the final 20 months for two years after his release, subject to a €100 bond.
The appeal concerned an offence against Ms. Marta Torres on 27 October 2014. The court heard that Torres, a Spanish national who had arrived in Ireland a week earlier to work as an au pair in Cork, was waiting for a bus in a doorway on South Mall at about 6pm. O’Sullivan and a co-accused asked her for money. After she refused, they walked away, then returned and tried to force her handbag from her. Garda evidence described the attempt as “a violent enough attempt”; Torres was rammed against a door three or four times during the minute-and-a-half incident.
The men left but were followed by witnesses and Garda Barrett, who had been called to investigate. Both were arrested. Torres identified them, and the court noted that CCTV footage also identified the two men. She was badly shaken and, as of February 2015, remained frightened and thought she was being followed.
O’Sullivan pleaded guilty at Cork Criminal Court on 2 February 2015 and was sentenced four days later. The sentencing judge imposed five years, with the final 18 months suspended on conditions. The judge described the offence as in the middle range for attempted robbery, noting that two men had pulled and dragged the victim, and said a jury conviction would have brought six years. The suspended portion was intended to give the men hope of receiving addiction treatment.
O’Sullivan’s appeal was narrowed to one ground: that the sentencing judge had not given sufficient weight to the circumstances of the offence. The Court of Appeal accepted there was substance to the argument that the offence had been placed too high on the severity scale, and held that the five-year term was unduly severe. It nevertheless described the offence as violent and planned: the men approached Torres, walked away and then returned to take her bag. The court said the force caused no physical injury but considerable psychological trauma, and noted O’Sullivan’s previous convictions, including robbery and attempted robbery.
In setting the replacement sentence, the court also took account of his guilty plea, genuine remorse and reports that he was doing well in prison. It said there was some hope the offence could mark a turning point. The appeal resulted in a four-year sentence, with 20 months suspended for two years post-release on the condition that O’Sullivan enter a €100 bond.