Soldier beats a woman unconscious, gets a great reference from his commanding officer, avoids jail.

walshb have you been watching Al Pacino?

I would say we all know people who work in particular jobs for many years and eventually lose interest, don't keep up to date, go through the motions etc. Just collect the pay packet etc. While not completely excusable it just happens. Judges are no different. Just keep them for 10 years max, then replace them because this has so much impact on society.

Where did the judge in this case suggest/imply/say that the reason Crotty is not in jail is because there are no jail spaces? Absolute nonsense. He is not in jail because his career is more important than justice….and didn't he plead guilty, doing that poor woman such a favor. This judge was not ordered to not jail Crotty due to a lack of jail/prison spaces

Do judges now have some algorithm that tells them there are 0 jail spaces, so you must NOT jail?

Jail spaces are not the remit of judges. It's nothing to do with them. They pass sentence.

Grand, so you admit you were wrong then.

Crotty is not in jail because a judge decided not to jail him, not because a judge couldn't jail him due to no prison spaces.

You know, I don't think so.

I think this is one of first times I've seen CA posters completely united over an issue.

(miracles can happen!)

It would be very surprising if the DPP didn’t appeal the leniency of the sentence - saying that, my guess is that it will be a partially suspended sentence with little actual jail time.
But like, what possessed this guy to do this? He had a job/start of his career - unprovoked- a young lady-and his social media bragging after - it makes absolutely no sense

A couple of points.

There seems to be a general dislike today of anything that smacks of "wokeness". Priggish, usually young people, who like to "call out" unacceptable behaviour with regard to sexism, racism, ageism, hompophobia, trans issues etc. are often considered contemptible by the commentariat.

On another day, or even on another forum on this site 😉 this incident might be dismissed as a case of a woke young busybody sticking her nose into a matter that was none of her concern and getting a good slap for her pains.

Hurray!!

Then we see what it really entails and we are horrified as we should be. Which only confirms me in my belief that the only thing worse than being woke is being anti-woke.

Now, about the sentence. Yes, it seems unusually lenient but is it really? It reminds me of the classic western The Gunfighter (showing my age here) in which Gregory Peck plays a disillusioned aging gunfighter weary of being challenged by eager young guns trying to match themselves against him and getting killed for their efforts. In the final scene he is fatally wounded after being shot in the back by an angry young punk. The local marshal, a friend of Peck's character, promises to hang the young man immediately. Peck tells him no, he drew first, it was a fair fight, the young man was not a murderer.

When his killer tells him he needs no favours, Peck replies that he's not doing any favours. If he were, he would let the marshal hang the kid immediately. Instead, he will be fated to travel the world knowing that everybody knows he's the man who shot the famous gunfighter. He will live the life that Peck lived and had grown disillusioned with. Having to face a succession of eager young belligerents until eventually one of them gets him. That's Peck's revenge.

Crotty's face is plastered over the media and internet in this country. Everybody knows who he is, certainly in Limerick and Clare. Remember: he has not been cleared. He has been deemed guilty and sentenced to three years in prison. The fact that it was suspended doesn't invalidate it; it just means he is free to go but if he transgresses again, in any way, he will go to jail for three years.

Somebody spills a pint on him, accidentally of course, in a local pub and he lashes out: he goes to jail for three years.

Somebody questions his sexual orientation (he seems to have a problem with this) and he swings at them: he goes to jail for three years.

Somebody calls him, say, Cocksucker Crotty and he takes umbrage: he goes to jail for three years.

Looks to me like his days of boozing in Limerick or Clare are over for a few years. Or they won't be much fun. Anybody who has a problem with him can say what they like. What's he gonna do?

Three years.

It's hard to comprehend. A lad attacking a woman is a fairly cowardly act. I've actually been on the receiving end from a woman while trying to break up a fight and all I could do was push her away. Throwing a punch at her would require a completely different mindset or she'd have to have some kind of weapon. Bragging about it afterward - again it's impossible to really understand the mindset of lads who would do that.

Notice it's also telling how the anti immigrant posters can't help themselves but bring it into the thread. A good example of how this forum has gone to the dogs.

Shocking. The entire leniency on the fact that he pleaded guilty is a joke. He plead guilty after he was shown irrefutable CCTV footage showing that what he originally claimed was completely false. If there was no CCTV footage, I guarantee he would have continued to deny the actual events.

Whether this verdict has an affect on his future employment opportunities should have zero bearing on the sentencing. You do the crime, you do the time and any repercussions that follow it are on you. His entire narrative that he ran away because he 'realised he f***** up' is BS. He was happy to post about it hours later on social media. That doesn't sound like someone who thinks they've messed up. He is a bully who legged it when another guy came to the scene.

Soldiers and Gardai should be held to a higher degree in accountability given that their job is to protect. They are trained in aggression, and more importantly when to use it. He is a disgrace to the armed forces and should be dishonourably discharged with the DPP appealing the sentencing.

Of course it makes sense….people commit scummy acts every day of the week. This is just another scummy act. Possessed by anger and a short fuse no doubt. Add in alcohol. Add in that some people are nastier than others. Males will always be violent. What makes less sense is how we as a society deal with these violent thugs who cause pain and misery to people. How this thug was dealt with is why so many people are disgusted

But I do understand your take here

It looks like the story is gaining momentum. I do hope that the DDP does appeal .

"The Minister for Justice has commended Natasha O'Brien for speaking openly and bravely following the "vicious" assault on her, adding that the DPP can lodge an appeal after a serving solider received a fully suspended sentence over the attack.

"It’s so important that victims of violence come forward," she said, adding that she could not comment on the case as there’s a clear separation of powers.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, Minister Helen McEntee said the DPP can appeal a case in a scenario such as that involving Ms O’Brien.

Ms O’Brien yesterday said it was "not justice" after a serving soldier who beat her unconscious in a random street attack and boasted about it on social media, walked free from court after being given a fully suspended sentence




https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/0621/1455952-mcentee-gender-violence/

Beat a woman unconcious. Walk free.

What, are the prisons going to be any emptier if he happens to get in trouble again? Creative writing exercise aside, just who the hell are you trying to fool here with the 3 years nonsense?

Oh for fcuk's sake Helen!

Speaking on Today with Claire Byrne, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said: “It’s important to acknowledge somebody has been found guilty here. There has been a prosecution.

“There has been a conviction for this brutal and vicious and unprovoked assault on a young woman who was simply walking down the road, which shouldn’t have happened.”

When asked if Crotty should remain in the Defence Forces, McEntee said it was not a matter for her and added that she does not wish to say anything that could prejudice any future appeals that may take place.

Shades of the Judge in those first two quotes. 🤬

Jesus, someone please call that General Election. I've had enough.

It's rare I agree with anything Mary Lou says, but I agree with her here.

Because you're raising it, it's not just a case of men vs women or men are violent. We live in a a society where the levels of violence and contempt toward women have been exponentially growing for the last number of decades. Thanks to social media platforms we had the privilege of being taught how to be a real man by the likes of the Tate Brothers, how to be a president by Number 45 and normalised sexual abuse for a large swathe of idiots on the internets.

If mysogyny is just a bit of banter and rewarded with likes and comendations then should we be surprised when it spills over to the real world. Expecting to be lauded by declaring publically "two to put her down, two to put her out" is exactly where we're at.

It's clear that this guy has been drip fed from the infinite well of unregulated trash being pumped out on a continuous flow on social media.

Prof Debbie Ging, Professor of Digital Media and Gender at the Dublin City University School of Communications, pointed to risks posed by mysogynistic content from people like Andrew Tate and the use of algorithms which are designed by social media companies to fuel users with customised content to keep them browsing.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/damaging-social-media-leaving-broken-people-seeking-help-in-hospital-emergency-departments-psychiatrist-warns/a1095292451.html

If nothing else it might be the wake up call that was needed.