A 17-YEAR-OLD boy was jailed for a year and half for his role in a group attack on a homeless man in Limerick City.
The victim, Declan Quinlivan, was kicked and punched 109 times in the head and body by the boy and two others as he lay defenceless on the ground, sentencing Judge Colin Daly told Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
The boy, who cannot be named because of reporting restrictions imposed by the court, pleaded guilty to one count of violent disorder.
The five-minute-long unprovoked attack occurred at around 5am on May 8, 2022, on Wickham Street in Limerick City.
The teen, who was aged 15 at the time, along with two others aged 17 and 20, were part of a “feral group” that set upon Mr Quinlivan who was sleeping on the street.
The gang also robbed Mr Quinlivan of his mobile phone, cigarettes, and a small amount of cash.
CCTV footage of the “appalling and protracted attack” was played in court, in which Mr Quinlivan was heard pleading for mercy and telling the three males “take what ye want lads, but please, stop beating me, I beg ye”.
Judge Daly said the three accused “delivered 36 kicks and 13 punches on the victim.”
The judge added that “despite being the youngest of the three, the accused played the most significant role in it”.
“It was a cowardly attack on a homeless man who was no match for them physically and who had no friends to help him.”
Prosecuting counsel told the court that “the behaviour of the three accused was feral, all three perpetrators were acting in a common design and actively participating in a violent attack on a defenceless person”.
The court heard that investigating Gardaí were hamstrung in bringing further charges in relation to the assault on Mr Quinlivan as he declined to cooperate with the investigation.
In court, the boy’s barrister, Yvonne Quinn, acknowledged that the attack was “appalling”, and said the teen was ashamed of his behaviour and he had written a letter of apology to the victim.
The judge said he was satisfied that a headline sentence of five years was appropriate. However, after taking into account the boy’s early guilty plea, expression of remorse, his previous good character, as well as a “relatively positive” probation report, the judge eventually reduced the boy’s sentence to 18 months detention at Obertstown Children’s Detention Campus in Dublin.
A co-defendant Aaron Holland (19), of Marian Road, Templemore, County Tipperary, who also previously pleaded guilty to one count of violent disorder on the night, was given a fully suspended two-year jail sentence by Judge Tom O’Donnell, now retired, last June.
