The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has lodged an appeal against the three-year suspended sentence imposed on soldier Cathal Crotty last month for beating a woman unconscious in Limerick city.
Crotty (22) received a suspended sentence for violently attacking Natasha O’Brien on the street after she asked him to stop shouting homophobic abuse at passersby, a court heard.
Ms O’Brien welcomed the DPP’s decision on Monday, saying “thank god the right thing is being done now”.
However, she said:
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“I am almost certain that there are a far greater number of unduly lenient sentences that don’t get to that point [of appeal].
“I know the DPP is impartial to public opinion and government opinion. However I have no doubt there would not have been an appeal had there not been a national uproar,” she said.
In the hours after the attack Crotty, an Army private from Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, boasted to friends on Snapchat: “Two to put her down, two to put her out,” in reference to striking Ms O’Brien four times.
Noting the impact a custodial term could have on the soldier’s career, Judge Tom O’Donnell imposed a three-year suspended sentence and ordered Crotty to pay €3,000 compensation to Ms O’Brien, at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on June 20th.
The case prompted significant public and political controversy, with thousands taking part in protests over the weekend in support of Ms O’Brien.
The DPP lodged its appeal on Friday on the grounds of undue leniency. No date has been set for the initial appeal hearing.
On Monday night, military management sought urgent legal advice on whether the appeal means it must postpone the dismissal process until the final conclusion of the case.
The Defence Forces Regulations concerning the discharge of soldiers with civilian convictions state that discharges “will not be carried out until it has been ascertained that no appeal is pending, or, where an appeal has been made, until the appeal is heard and determined.”
However, the legal advice it received stated the regulation applies only to appeals against conviction by an accused, rather than appeals against sentence by the DPP.
As a result, senior officers are confident they can proceed with the dismissal process against Crotty.
Speaking on Monday, Ms O’Brien said legislation and sentencing guidelines “need to change” to make the courts “more accessible” for victims of crime.
She noted the Labour Party was due to put a motion before the Dáil on Wednesday seeking stringent sentencing guidelines in assault cases. “That is fantastic and it is great to see the wheel of change moving slowly forward.”
However, Ms O’Brien said she was concerned at some of the reaction to her public stance.
“I’ve been receiving an outrageous amount of backlash this past weekend, in regards to people saying ‘would she give it a rest’ – ‘two [punches] to put her down, how many to shut her up’, ‘she deserved it, she’s mouthy’.
“That is really frightening. This is a societal issue and people are getting frustrated that I am continuing to speak out about this? I won’t be giving it a rest, because we, as a society, are only at the start. We are moving forward but it is nowhere where we need to be,” Ms O’Brien said.
“To any of those commentators – their hate is my motivation to keep going.
“It is raising alarms for me that there is such a lack of conversation around the justice system, around victims, around violence, that people are seriously triggered when I speak out about holding accountability for assaults.”
The Defence Forces began the dismissal process against Crotty, on June 21st, the day after he received the suspended sentence in Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
He was paraded before a senior officer and informed he had seven days to “make representations” on why he should not be discharged.
It is understood no compelling argument against his discharge was forthcoming, freeing the Defence Forces to formally dismiss him from the organisation this week.
Regulations state the dismissal process must take place “with all convenient speed”, with the date of discharge determined by the officer in charge.
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