The justice system has “failed” the victim of an assault from a soldier in County Limerick, according to the Sentencing and Victim Equality (SAVE) group.
Cathal Crotty, a 22-year-old Defence Forces member, walked free from court yesterday with a three-year suspended sentence after beating a woman unconscious on a street in Limerick.
Hours after the attack, Mr Crotty boasted about what he had done, writing to friends on Snapchat, “Two to put her down, two to put her out.”
The victim, 24-year-old Natasha O’Brien, told Newstalk earlier that she was “completely horrified” by the judge’s sentence and was left thinking, “Am I safe in this country at all?”
On The Hard Shoulder this evening, SAVE member Kathleen Chada said Ireland’s justice system is “very unkind” to victims of crime.
“We need to put victims at the centre of the justice system,” she said.
“If Natasha had been put at the centre of this and they had worked around her, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation right now.
“I also think victim impact statements are hugely important, but you would have to question whether they are actually effective or not; there needs to be more understanding of the impact a crime has on a victim.”
Sentence
Solicitor Dara Robinson said he was not surprised to see Mr Crotty receive a suspended sentence.
“This young man was 22 years of age and by the sounds of things he had no previous convictions, he said.
“It was an offence that came out of the blue and he had what is known as an exemplary character, which is to say that he was in good employment.
“He'd never transgressed the law before and he pleaded guilty, which is extremely important.
“So, there were many classic criminological reasons for not sending him to jail.”
'I felt so defeated - but the most heartbreaking part is that I wasn't actually surprised'
Natasha O'Brien speaks out after her attacker handed a three-year suspended sentence@LunchtimeLiveNT pic.twitter.com/SlFiEadSdS
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) June 21, 2024
Mr Robinson said custodial sentences can be a deterrent to other potential criminals.
“The whole idea of deterrence is absolutely central to and is one of the primary functions of the criminal justice process,” he said.
“There'd be an argument to say that not jailing this young man has lessened that deterrent effect.
“But the mere fact that he hasn't jailed this young man doesn't mean that half the young fellas in Limerick are going to go around beating up women tonight because they think they can get away with it.”
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Main image: An Irish Defence Forces arm patch of a soldier in October 2016. Picture by: Andy Gibson / Alamy Stock Photo
