A man with 63 previous convictions has been jailed for assaulting a victim near People’s Park in Waterford city.
Conor Manning (31) of no fixed abode, appeared before Judge Eugene O’Kelly at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court this month for sentencing. He pleaded guilty to assault causing harm, contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, and appeared via video link from prison, where he is serving a sentence for an unrelated matter.
Garda Conor Gallagher agreed with State Prosecutor Niall Storan BL that on 4 May 2024, Gardaí received a report about an incident at William Street, Waterford city. The court was told that a woman who was walking near People’s Park on that date called Gardaí after observing a man being assaulted.
It was heard that Gardaí spoke with the injured party at the scene, and observed that he had blood on his clothing and a cut on his head. He was subsequently brought to University Hospital Waterford (UHW) for treatment.
Garda Gallagher agreed with Mr. Storan that following the incident, Gardaí arrested the accused after searching a property on William Street, where he was present with others and was noted to have been drinking.
It was heard that blood was observed on the floor of the property, and when Gardaí spoke to the accused, he would not give them any details and tried to get past them out of the property.
The court was told that in a statement to Gardaí, the injured party said that the accused ‘struck’ him in the face, ‘knocked’ him over, and left him with a swollen eye and sore legs. The victim had to get staples in his forehead as treatment, the court was told. There was no victim impact statement made available to the court.
It was noted that the accused has 63 previous convictions, including five assault matters, along with theft, public order, and criminal damage offences. The court heard that he was on bail at the time of this offence, and is currently serving a seven-and-a-half year sentence for a separate unrelated matter.
Garda Gallagher agreed with Mr. Manning’s defence counsel that the offence occurred in the early hours of the morning and both the victim and the accused were “heavily intoxicated”. The accused’s barrister also asked if her client’s guilty plea was of ‘value’, to which Garda Gallagher replied that it was, as it ‘saved’ the injured party from having to attend court, as they were ‘nervous’ about giving evidence.
Judge O’Kelly asked if there was any ‘racial motivation’ for the assault, and Garda Gallagher said that no motive was indicated by the accused.
The accused’s barrister stated that there was ‘no racial motivation’ for what occurred, and handed in a letter of apology from her client to ‘express remorse.’
After reading the letter, Judge O’Kelly said it was ‘generic’ as it was not dated and was addressed to ‘the victim’. The judge stated that the letter was ‘not acceptable’.
Defence counsel said her client did not complete education to a ‘great degree’ and had a ‘difficult and chaotic’ upbringing. The barrister added that a psychiatric report was prepared to set out her client’s background, which indicates that he suffers from mental health issues such as PTSD, depression and anxiety, and began using drugs from the age of 12.
The accused’s counsel added that her client is using his time in custody ‘constructively’ by working and engaging with psychiatric services. It was also heard that the accused wishes to apologise to the victim, and while acknowledging his upbringing is ‘no excuse’ for what occurred, he ‘perceived’ a threat on the day of the incident.
Judge O’Kelly stated that the assault was on the ‘upper’ end of the low range of gravity, and set a headline sentence of four years. The judge said that factors such as the accused’s relevant previous convictions for assault, the fact he was on bail, and was ‘heavily intoxicated’ at the time of the assault, had to be “taken into account.”
Judge O’Kelly reduced the sentence by one year in mitigation, noting the accused’s guilty plea, and his ‘dysfunctional’ childhood, which was ‘exacerbated’ by his drug and alcohol addiction.
The judge sentenced the accused to three years in prison.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme Robyn Power
