A JUDGE wished a boy well after sentencing him to one year detention after the boy pleaded guilty to beating a pensioner in an “horrific” attack.
The 17-year-old boy, who was 15 when he punched the 78-year-old victim up to a dozen times, admitted assault causing harm when he appeared before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
The boy also pleaded guilty to separate charges of burglary and violent disorder. for which he received concurrent sentences of four months and six months respectively.
The attack occurred while the victim was walking alone on the Great Southern Trail, located along the Limerick Greenway near Rathkeale, on August 12, 2024.
The man had undergone quadruple bypass surgery prior to the attack and was walking on the route as part of his recovery when he was set upon.
Judge Sinead McMullen said “the boy punched the elderly man into the jaw, he gave him between 10 and 12 punches, nine of the punches occurred while the man was on his knees.”
“The man was on blood thinning medication and he suffered a significant bleed. It was really serious.”
The judge heard that the man had encountered three girls on the walkway, one of whom who appeared to be intoxicated and was being held up by the other two.
After the girl stumbled and fell over, the victim, who was trained as a first responder, asked her if she was okay.
A younger brother of the defendant told the man to “fuck off, she’s my sister”.
The man pushed the younger boy away from him fearing he would be assaulted.
Prosecution witness, Detective Sergeant Michael Reidy, told the court: “It wasn’t a forceful push, just to create distance between them, his only interaction was to express concern.”
The court heard the defendant told the man: “You don’t know who you’re dealing with, he’s my brother, we back each other up.”
Detective Sergeant Reidy said the defendant struck the victim on his head with “solid punches”.
“After three punches, he was on his knees. There were up to 10 or 12 punches in total, they were full force and he was defenceless and in pain,” said Det Sgt Reidy.
“The assault continued when he was defenceless on the ground. He was bleeding quite heavily. Both of his eyes were covered in blood and he was bleeding from the left ear,” added Detective Sergeant Reidy.
A paramedic who lived nearby responded to the scene quickly and the victim was rushed by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick, where he received stitches over both his eyes and his left ear. He also suffered a swollen jaw, as well as bruising to his arms and stomach.
The boy’s barrister, Kenneth Kerins, told the court there was “no justification” for the assault.
Mr Kerins said the boy had been held on remand at Oberstown detention centre since January 19, where he found “structure”, “it suits him and he is doing well”.
Judge Sinead McMullen said the boy had suffered a “difficult childhood, a chaotic upbringing”, but he now has good family supports in place.
The judge said she regarded the boy’s decision to surrender his bail as a sign of “maturity”.
Judge McMullen said that although she considered that the victim had been “badly injured” and the boy’s offending was “very serious”, she would not keep him in detention beyond his 18th birthday, as to keep him incarcerated beyond that point would mean he would have to enter the adult prison system and this was, in her view, “not appropriate”.
Judge McMullen said the boy was “at a crossroads” and it was up to him to decide to “get help” from people who were offering him help or “go down the wrong road”.
Sentencing him to remain at Obertstown “until a little before your 18th birthday”, the judge told the boy: “You need a chance – grab that chance, grab every chance you get, I wish you the best.”
– Court Reporting Scheme