DEFIANT Limerick woman Natasha O’Brien and her supporters took their campaign for legal reforms for victims of crime to the steps of Limerick Circuit Criminal Court this Wednesday (June 26).
Ms O’Brien said she was disgusted and traumatised at the tone of Judge Tom O’Donnell’s sentencing of soldier Cathal Crotty, who he gave a suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to savagely beating Ms O’Brien in an unprovoked attack in Limerick City.
Judge O’Donnell told Ms O’Brien to realise it was “significant” that Crotty had pleaded guilty, despite the fact he was caught on CCTV beating her, and that he had initially tried to blame her for the assault.
Ms O’Brien said she understood she had been spared the trauma of a trial, but she reminded the judge that what was significant for her was the vicious attack and injuries suffered at the hands of the trained soldier.
Judge O’Donnell, who retired this week after 47 esteemed years as a solicitor and later as District and Circuit Court judge, also told Ms O’Brien that to jail her attacker would have meant his career in the Defence Forces would be over.
Ms O’Brien said she was disgusted by this remark as she had lost her job due to the trauma she suffered at the hands of Crotty and that he should not get to keep his job.
She also criticised the Defence Forces after Crotty’s superior officer, Commandant Paul Togher, told Crotty’s sentencing hearing that his conduct in the army had been “exemplary”.
‘One tiny dot of a person’
Ms O’Brien told RTÉ’s PrimeTime on Tuesday night that she would have rather have relived the assault than have to hear Judge O’Donnell’s judgement again, because it was so distressing for her.
“It’s one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do, but one tiny dot of a person can make a huge difference. A few paragraphs in my victim impact statement may not have made an impact in the court, but they definitely made an impact outside of the court,” Ms O’Brien told the Limerick Post this week.
“When people ask me about Tom O’Donnell, I would have had no problem with him if he exercised any bit of empathy to me.
“I understand he is a man who has to take the law into consideration, and I am not criticising the actual sentence given. I am criticising the way it was given, and the reasons for giving it, and the sensitivity in which he (the judge) handled me.
“Judges are only making decisions on the law, however these judges are at fault for their absolute lack of empathy and insensitivity – they are dealing with victims, they are living in the 21st century and they need to get into the times.”
Ms O’Brien said she had been buoyed by her presence receiving a standing ovation in the Dáil this past Tuesday.
‘A turning point for change’
Street protests around the country, held in support of Ms O’Brien and her calls for change in how the courts deal with victims of crime, also boosted her, she said.
“I’m blown away by the response, it’s incredible. It’s very evident that this is an issue that I am speaking up about for the public, not for me.
“I genuinely feel we are at the start of a turning point for change.
“The issues that I’ve brought to light have always been issues but I have absolutely metastasised the awareness and the necessity for change.
“It is at the forefront of all our minds now and that is what I wanted.
“I know now I can strive forward even more, this issue is being taken seriously now, and I think that is phenomenal.”
Ms O’Brien said she is seeking support for members of the judiciary to receive specific “sensitivity training” on how to empathise with victims in courts.
Crotty’s sentencing hearing on Wednesday of last week heard he beat Ms O’Brien unconscious in a random street attack on O’Connell Street on May 29, 2022.
He walked free from the court after getting a fully suspended three-year sentence.
‘Two to put her down’
22-year-old Crotty, of Parkroe Heights, Ardnacrusha, County Clare, initially told Gardaí who arrested him that Ms O’Brien had instigated the attack. However, after Gardaí showed Crotty CCTV footage of him setting upon Ms O’Brien without provocation, he admitted his guilt.
Hours after the attack, Crotty boasted to friends on Snapchat: “Two to put her down, two to put her out.”
Crotty, who had been drinking alcohol throughout the evening of the attack, has never given a full explanation for the attack in which he pulverised Ms O’Brien with up to six punches.
It appeared he lashed out at Ms O’Brien, of North Circular Road, Limerick City, after she and a friend of hers had asked him to stop shouting homophobic slurs at other persons in the street.
Ms O’Brien, who was not known to Crotty, was walking home with a female friend after working a shift at a local pub, when she was violently assaulted.
Crotty grabbed Ms O’Brien by her hair and punched her to the ground. He continued holding her hair with one hand and punching her face as she lost consciousness on the ground, the court heard.
Ms O’Brien, who sustained a broken nose, bruising, nightmares, and panic attacks afterwards, said she thought Crotty was going to kill her during the attack.
Crotty fled when a male passerby intervened, however his friends remained at the scene.
‘He’s not stopping, I’m going to die’
In court, Ms O’Brien bravely walked past Crotty to get into the witness box and read a victim impact statement.
“When Cathal Crotty attacked me, I went into a state of shock. I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me, I felt completely helpless, feeling like I was being used as a punching bag, I didn’t feel human,” Ms O’Brien told the court.
“As I lay in the foetal position and losing consciousness, he continued his relentless beating – my last conscious thought was, ‘he’s not stopping, I’m going to die’.
“The physical injuries I sustained were devastating; a severe concussion, a broken nose, severe swelling, and bruising on both arms, shoulders, head, right upper thigh, left eye, cheek, and jaw.
“I spent the following weeks and months attending hospital and doctor appointments, and due to persistent concussion symptoms I was deemed ‘high risk’ for a brain bleed, and I received a battery of tests including a head CT scan.
“I lived in constant fear that it could still result in my death. Cathal Crotty’s actions left me in a place of darkness, I have been suffering symptoms of PTSD, and I’ve had to attend multiple therapists since the attack.
“A sense of constant dread and isolation was unlike anything I have ever experienced and I spiralled into self-destructive behaviours and lost all interest and motivation for life.
“Basic tasks at work became incredibly difficult and I ultimately lost my job due to my rapidly declining performance. I became numb and detached from reality, living in perpetual fear of seeing him again.
“He (Crotty) may not remember, but my memory of the vicious sinister look in his eyes as he approached me will haunt me forever.”
Crotty is now subject to a Defence Forces internal disciplinary process at present which will decide his future in the army.
