A security man at the Virgin centre in Parnell Street, Dublin, who assaulted an 11-year-old inner-city boy was ordered to carry out community service yesterday.
Darren Smyth (25), a father of three from Fitzgibbon Court, Dublin, was given the option of 40 hours' service in lieu of a one-month prison sentence for assaulting Frank Tate on September 21st last year.
The boy admitted in Dublin District Court that he and his friends, who are from the neighbouring Dominick Street flats, were barred from the centre for setting off fire alarms, pulling at shutters and generally "messing", but he denied starting fires.
Smyth claimed in court the boys had also been detained for breaking into cash boxes in an amusement arcade in the centre, but gardai said they were too young to prosecute.
Frank Tate told the court he and his friends were playing in Strike Four Restaurant when the security guard grabbed him and threw him to the ground twice before throwing him out the door.
Smyth denied assault. He claimed he pushed the boy out by the shoulder and that the boy then threw a bottle of orange drink at a waitress. Later that afternoon the boys set off fire alarms causing 1,200 people to be evacuated from the complex, Smyth said.