Man sentenced to 9 and a half years in jail for assault on champagne bottle

A person who attacked a heart specialist with a bottle of champagne on the sufferer’s house after they met in a Dublin pub that night time has been sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in jail.

Liam Whelan (43), of no mounted abode, had pleaded not responsible at Dublin Circuit Prison Courtroom to assault inflicting critical hurt and theft from the sufferer in Dublin metropolis on August 25, 2023.

Whelan was unanimously discovered responsible by a jury at Dublin Circuit Prison Courtroom on each counts following a trial in November.

The court docket heard the sufferer later needed to endure surgical procedure to take away a big blood clot which was placing stress on her mind and to reconstruct her cranium as a result of a fracture. He has everlasting listening to loss in a single ear and has been unable to work for six months as a result of a danger of epilepsy and seizures.

On Thursday, Choose Patricia Ryan sentenced Whelan to 10 years and 6 months, with the ultimate 12 months suspended for 3 years on strict situations.

Garda Ryan Delaney informed Conor McKenna BL prosecuting that the sufferer lived and labored as a heart specialist outdoors Dublin however had come to Dublin that night time to a home he owned within the metropolis. He went to dinner with a good friend earlier than going for a drink on the George Bar, on George’s Avenue within the metropolis centre.

The sufferer met Whelan whereas he was outdoors within the smoking space, and the lads determined to return to the sufferer’s close by house.

Gda Delaney agreed with Mr McKenna that the sufferer had little or no reminiscence of what occurred afterwards, however she remembers going to her room with Whelan earlier than listening to a cracking noise. He later returned to the bottom in a pool of his personal blood.

He estimated he had been there for some time as his face was glued to the bottom.

The physician stored coming in and dropping consciousness. He recalled seeing Whelan within the room, bare, attempting on his garments and requested him to name an ambulance.

He remembers Whelan mocking him and telling the sufferer he hadn’t but determined whether or not he was going to “minimize” him.

Whelan then left the home with the sufferer’s cash, pockets, bank cards, cellphone and clothes.

The sufferer left the home and acquired paracetamol earlier than going house to sleep.

He had supposed to hunt assist at St James Hospital, however when he received there he discovered there have been 11 ambulances lined up. So he determined to go to his house within the south of the nation.

The physician was handled the following day in hospital. He underwent surgical procedure to take away the blood clot in his cranium and reconfigure the fragmented bones in his cranium.

He spent 5 days within the hospital and was unable to return to work as a heart specialist or drive for six months as a result of potential dangers of seizures.

Medical experiences

Mr McKenna mentioned two medical experiences had been earlier than the court docket. The primary famous that the sufferer suffered critical bruising to the top and face and had a number of cuts to the face and scalp.

He suffered a major cranium fracture and facial fracture.

The blood clot that was eliminated was thought of “massive and life-threatening.”

A second medical report indicated that the sufferer would endure everlasting listening to loss in a single ear and that his steadiness would even be impacted.

Mr McKenna reminded the court docket that the jury had seen images of the person’s accidents and the scene of the assault.

In addition they considered numerous CCTV footage displaying the lads first assembly, their return to the sufferer’s house, hand in hand, and their arrival on the sufferer’s house.

Whelan was recognized in CCTV footage and was ultimately arrested on January 4 this 12 months. In the course of the subsequent interview with the Garda, he claimed he had been sexually assaulted by the sufferer and had due to this fact hit him with a bottle.

He maintained this protection all through his trial. He additionally claimed the sufferer “got here in direction of me with a knife.”

Gda Delaney mentioned Whelan had 63 earlier convictions, together with for breaching a banning order, for highway site visitors offences, for possessing medication on the market or provide, for possessing knives and for dealing with stolen items.

Sufferer assertion

A sufferer affect assertion learn into the file by Mr McKenna mentioned the sufferer had “recovered effectively bodily – all issues thought of”.

He suffered a lack of earnings estimated at €106,760 as a result of impossibility of working towards cardiology for six months.

He mentioned he misplaced seven liters of blood within the assault and the partitions of his bed room needed to be repainted due to blood spatter. He has scars on his face and scalp.

The physician mentioned he had no earlier historical past of psychological sickness, however had suffered extreme misery since then. He mentioned that via counseling he started to handle his social anxiousness and was very depending on his family and friends. He suffers from “extreme and debilitating melancholy” which he finds embarrassing each socially and professionally.

“I’m a paper-thin model of the particular person I was,” the assertion continued.

“I’ll by no means perceive how somebody I used to be having time with refused to name an ambulance, laughed at me and allowed me to fall again right into a pool of my very own blood,” he mentioned. he declared.

“It’s tough to just accept the truth of life right now,” he concluded.

Gda Delaney agreed with Maurice Coffey SC, defending, that on the time of the offense Whelan was a homeless drug addict.

He admitted he had no earlier convictions for violent assault or theft.

Mr McKenna mentioned the Director of Public Prosecutions believed the offense was on the excessive finish of the spectrum and warranted a sentence of between 10 and 15 years, given the seriousness of the accidents and the affect that they had on his life, as a result of the truth that it was an unprovoked sentence. assault occurred on the sufferer’s house and that Whelan had used a bottle as a weapon.

The utmost sentence relevant to the court docket for each offenses is life imprisonment.

Mr Coffey informed Choose Ryan that though Whelan maintains he acted in self-defence, he accepts he dedicated these acts and brought on the hurt.

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“He deeply regrets the extent of hurt brought on to the sufferer,” Mr Coffey mentioned, including that Whelan was remorseful for the harm brought on.

Mr Coffey requested the court docket to just accept his consumer had a tough life and handed over a letter from his sister describing their tough household historical past.

“He skilled tragedies inside his household and the deaths of shut family and friends members early in his life had critical penalties on his life,” the lawyer continued.

Mr Coffey requested the court docket to have in mind Whelan’s vulnerability on the time of the offense however accepted it was a really critical assault which resulted in lasting and everlasting damage to the sufferer.