Suspended sentence for soldier who beat woman unconscious.

[NitroNine]

A soldier who responded to a request to stop shouting homophobic abuse at passers-by by beating the woman who made it until she lost consciousness - ceasing only when passer-by intervened - has been given a 3-year suspended sentence & €3000 payment to the victim.

The judge was utterly focused on protecting this thug’s career. He’s never been caught being violent before so why she he lose his career - in the way his victim did in the aftermath of the attack? Who better to be in the army than someone incapable of controlling their temper; unwilling to take responsibility for their actions; & dishonest (he initially told the Gardaí his victim had attacked him)?

Absolutely disgraceful.

It’s now too late for me to edit my last post but JK Rowling has RTd a TwiX post (Lots of comments across media about this case. Not surprising given the suspended sentence for punching a woman unconscious in an unprovoked attack.) about with the Irish Mirror article about the case. The person JKR RTd is Professor Jane Monckton-Smith, who works on interpersonal violence, specialising in homicide [& the prevention thereof]. Although the Prof is UK-based, clearly she’s a woman who’d have interesting insights to offer…

The misogyny of his mates. Sending messages about as though it was a bit of craic.
Doling something awful is one thing but not even being ashamed and having a bualadh bos is another level.

This is making me want to mount a letter writing campaign to her.

Why was he not court martialed, does anyone know? I can't imagine they'd have been so lenient.

The judge should himself be in the dock for that bollocks sentence.

Thats disgusting, he should be in jail. The fact that he was boasting about it, what kind of man boasts about beating a woman unconscious.

Yeah this really struck me, he boasted about it because he believed (and maybe he was right) that his friends would approve.

His mates stood and watched. There is no mention of them making any effort to stop him. It was already quite clear that, at the very least, they did not disapprove.

Him sending messages around boasting about it should have been an aggravating factor resulting in a more severe sentence.

Because he was not on duty at the time.

Thanks.

Have you listened to the femicide episodes of the Assume Nothing podcast on BBC Sounds? It is a harrowing listen. Prof Monckton-Smith is fantastic on it. It explores domestic murders based on the homicide timeline she has identified from her research.

Another shocking case is that of Katie Simpson, murdered by a violent man called Jonathan Creswell, who had a history of extreme violence against ex-partners, and I think got a mere suspended sentence in the past, going on to kill Katie Simpson some years later.

I say 'I think..' because when I went back to the BBC website to get a link to the article about the case, it was gone. I suspect it may be because there is an investigation into police misconduct by the PSNI in handling the murder, perhaps something is still sub judice.

But you'll find plenty of info online about the horrendous violence of Jonathan Creswell, and the missed chances to put him in jail and potentially save the life of Katie Simpson.

The same might apply to this thug avoiding jailtime..

I have also emailed DPP, Dept of Justice and the Army.

Further to information above from @TaTuirseOrm I did not request that the DPP reopen the case, I simply stated my feelings about the whole thing and quoted from their website.

Delighted to see protests in support of Natasha O' Brien this weekend

Women’s Aid have had a huge number of calls from women distressed by how light the sentence was.

Natasha O’Brien attended the protest in Limerick herself.

Protest in Dublin today, there were others in Limerick, Cork, etc.

Note the 'END GENDER BASED VIOLENCE' sign, it looks like it was composed by UN Women or an NGO
END MALE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN would have been more accurate, but it mentions 'women', so no go...

Hurrah for everyone who came out today to speak up for women.

Well done, women of Ireland.

BelTel coverage of protests & the Taoiseach has praised Natasha O’Brien for speaking up.

The second article linked includes the following statement from the Irish Defence Forces:
Any conviction in a civilian court may have implications for the retention and service of members of the Defence Forces, as stipulated in Defence Forces Regulations.
Once due process has been completed in a civilian court of law, it becomes a matter for the relevant Defence Forces authorities in accordance with Defence Forces Regulations.
We can confirm that these proceedings have commenced and as such, it would be inappropriate to comment further on this specific case.

To be hoped Cathal Crotty will soon be EX-forces; & ideally getting therapy to address his issues.

Vile little prick! The military is full of psychopaths like this one.

Apparently the same judge gave a suspended sentence to a naval office for a vicious attack on an ex girlfriend. That particular officer is still serving in the navy and also presumably did not have his sentence appealed by the DPP.

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2024/06/24/judge-at-centre-of-cathal-crotty-controversy-to-retire-this-week/

and

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2024/06/24/naval-service-officer-still-in-role-almost-a-year-after-guilty-plea-in-violent-attack/

The office of the DPP replied today:

Dear X ,
Thank you for taking the time to email the Office of the DPP on Saturday, 22 June 2024. I wish to acknowledge your comments to this Office.

With kindest regards,

@Knittingknewbie .. better than a 'shut up woman, you have no right to share your opinion with us'.

On another topic, I had a response from a journalist today.. who might consider a more balanced approach to reporting as a result of my email... sometimes it is worth writing.

Thank you for emailing.

This is utterly appalling. Who's wants such a thug in the army?? Fucking hell.

I come from an Irish family with a complicated relationship with the military. I am the middle 'generation'.. our father's didn't all serve in the same armies but most of our generation didn't stand across the baricades each other even if we were not always on the same side.. . and somehow... somehow... in our mature years... we are able to look back and see... that putting guns in the hands of children - I consider anyone under 26 a child- (and teaching children the art of combat) is not a good thing... we should teach everyone compassion first.... but if we did.. we would never find our soldiers.

Article from The Journal (& an archive copy, because I’m good to youse like that) in which Helen McEntee responds to Natasha O’Brien giving out about her; & the latter affirms her commitment to continuing to speak out.

Fair play to Natasha for speaking out and putting the government on the spot.

I'd like to see McEntee put more effort into sorting out the laws concerned with punishing those committing violent crime rather than trying to push through curbs on speech into legislation. Her priorities are askew.

And if judges can learn to use female pronouns for various males on trial (e.g. Barbie Kardashian), they can certainly learn to be equally respectful and empathetic to female victims of violence.

Thanks for the link Nitro 👍