A MAN who attacked a migrant after that man was falsely accused of inappropriately approaching children on social media in a Limerick City park has been sentenced to six months in jail.
43-year-old Cian Benn with an address at Eden House, Edward Street, appeared before Limerick District Court charged with assaulting Abdulrahman Safi in broad daylight at around 3:45 pm in the Parnell Street area of Limerick City on Tuesday July 1 last.
The court heard that CCTV footage captured the accused with another man approaching Mr Safi before Mr Benn struck the victim in the nose with his right elbow causing blood clotting and swelling to the victims nostrils.
Mr Safi was brought to University Hospital Limerick for treatment following the assault.
The attack, according to Prosecuting Sergeant Denis Waters, was part of “a series of incidents which culminated in Mr Safi being assaulted”.
Just days before the attack, the court heard that the victim was in the People’s Park in Limerick City where he waved and said hello to an infant child passing by.
He was questioned by a woman as to why he was speaking to the child before a video was taken of him and later widely shared on social media.
Media reports just days before the assault outlined how Mr Safi was confronted by a group in a verbal attack described as an “act of harassment and violence”. They grilled him on why he had spoken to a child while he protested that he was just being friendly.
In a Garda statement in the days after the video incident, the force said that they are the “sole agency with the statutory role of preserving peace and public order”.
Gardaí also confirmed at the time that following their enquiries they were satisfied that allegations made about Mr Safi’s interaction with a child in the park were unfounded and that his behaviour was “not of a criminal nature and nothing was untoward”.
They added that Mr Safi “fully co-operated” with Gardaí during their enquiries.
There was no suggestion in the court case that Mr Benn was a member of the group involved in the confrontation in the park.
Mr Benn, who was detained by Gardaí following the assault on July 1, has 199 previous convictions including assault, theft, robbery, burglary, possession of drugs, handling stolen property and road traffic offences.
The 43-year-old was sentenced to over five years in prison at Ennis District Court in February this year for unrelated charges of endangerment, burglary, and attempted burglary.
Defence solicitor Tom Kiely said that his client had pleaded guilty to the assault charge in question and that Mr Benn, who is not due for release until mid-2029, was “doing very well” in custody and experienced no disciplinary issues.
The court heard that the accused’s offending behaviour stemmed from drug addiction, “which he is now addressing in custody”, Mr Kiely said.
“Drugs influenced Mr Benn’s actions at the time of the assault,” he added.
“He was a minor participant in the assault…others present on the day were more heavily involved. The injuries sustained were not as serious as they could have been.”
Mr Kiely urged Judge Catherine Ryan to be as “lenient as possible” in sentencing given that Mr Benn is “already serving a lengthy prison sentence”.
During sentencing, Judge Ryan described the incident as “a serious assault on an innocent person” and said that Mr Benn and others involved that day had “taken the law into their own hands”.
“Nobody wants to see this happening on the streets where people see it as their right or duty” to carry out such acts, Judge Ryan said.
Judge Ryan remarked that the events leading up to the assault were aggravating factors, noting that the attack was not random and had been contemplated in advance.
She said the offence crossed the threshold for a custodial sentence and imposed a six-month prison stint to run concurrently with Mr Benn’s existing sentences.
A full medical report in relation to Mr Safi’s injuries is due before the court in July.
– Court Reporting Scheme