A man who slashed the faces of a woman and a man in separate incidents in Dublin city centre, leaving them with scarring from ear to mouth, has been jailed for 16 years.
Jonathan Cummins (38), of Henrietta Place, Dublin 1, was found guilty by a jury following a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial last November of intentionally causing serious harm to a man whose face he slashed with a blade.
He was also found guilty of assault causing harm to a woman, producing a knife in the course of an assault and possessing a scissors. All of these offences took place on Jervis Street, Dublin 1 on November 2nd, 2023.
Before the trial, Cummins pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally causing serious harm to another woman, whose face was also slashed, at Moore Lane on the same date. This woman, who was also left with significant scarring from her ear to her mouth, has since died of unrelated causes, the court heard.
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Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing SC, prosecuting, told the court that the individuals involved in the case had “difficult lives, lives that were blighted by addiction and homelessness”.
On the day in question, he said, Cummins came across his male victim in Wolfe Tone Square on Jervis Street and the pair were seen “squaring up” to each other. A brawl then broke out between them in the Marks & Spencer store on Mary Street, which was captured on CCTV.
The court heard that Cummins returned to Wolfe Tone Square some 40 minutes later, where he attacked the man with a blade, slashing his face from mouth to ear. Another woman present was assaulted by Cummins in the course of this attack, which was witnessed by a car park attendant.
Cummins left the scene with another woman and they walked up to Moore Lane, where they encountered a woman who was also homeless. Cummins attacked this woman, in an entirely unprovoked and vicious assault, slashing her face from mouth to ear.
The defendant and his companion were stopped by gardaí a short while later and he was found to be in possession of a scissors. The woman with him was found to be in possession of a blade.
The court heard the male victim is now in custody on other matters. He did not give a victim impact statement. The female victim of the slash attack on Moore Lane died some time later from unrelated causes, the court heard.
The woman who was the victim of the assault causing harm charge gave evidence at trial. The court heard she was in fear of Cummins and required special measures while giving evidence.
Conor Devally SC, defending, said Cummins, who has 18 previous convictions, including for various assaults, had a difficult childhood, with both of his parents having died from HIV-related illness when he was young. He was raised by his grandparents, left school at 13 and is a long-term drug user.
Sentencing Cummins on Monday, Judge Elva Duffy said his offending fell into the “exceptional range”. She noted the “appalling nature” of the serious harm injuries inflicted on both the man and the woman, and the fact that the attack on the woman was “entirely unprovoked”.
She handed down a sentence of 16 years to Cummins, who has been in custody since the date of the offences.
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