Student who placed hand on girl's leg during graduation ball in Limerick avoids conviction

AN ENGINEERING student who placed his hand on a teenage girl's leg during a Leaving Cert graduation ball in Limerick more than two years ago has avoided a criminal conviction.

Limerick District Court was told the defendant, who pleaded guilty to a charge of assault, committed the offence having been dared to do so by some of his school friends.

The man was aged 18 at the time and was heavily intoxicated on the night. The complainant is a similar age to the defendant. 

Having considered the contents of a victim impact statement at a previous court hearing, Judge Carol Anne Coolican noted the incident had a significant impact on the injured party and she adjourned the case commenting that "remorse must be conveyed to the victim".

In her victim impact statement, the woman detailed to the court her struggles in moving on following the incident. She also outlined the the effects it had on her at the time and since, including that it took "some time for her to go out again".

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During a sentencing hearing last week, Judge Coolican was told the defendant, who had no prior history of criminal conduct, regrets his actions and has expressed his remorse. According to the Probation Service, he is at a low risk of reoffending.

Barrister Liam Carroll submitted a hand-written letter from his client and he asked that it be forwarded directly to the complainant via the Probation Service.

The letter, which was read into the court record states the man regrets what happened and is making no excuses for his actions. "I am not the same person I was two years ago," he wrote, adding that he is "ashamed" and that nothing similar will happen again.

Mr Carroll asked that his client be allowed to move forward with his life without having a criminal conviction on his record in accordance. "He is a relatively young man, he has no previous convictions and he has not come to the adverse attention of gardai since," he said.

The barrister said his client is contributing to society and that he accepts full responsibility for what happened.

Judge Coolican was told an envelope containing €2,000 in cash was available in court and was being offered as compensation or as a donation to charity, subject to the court and the wishes of the injured party.

Imposing sentence, Judge Coolican noted there was a "sense of bravado" to the defendant’s actions and she noted he had been dared by a number of friends.

Formally applying the Probation Act, the judge stated she had considered all of the submissions and that the injured party was "not buying himself out of a conviction".

She asked members of the media to "exercise their discretion" and not to identify the defendant given the nature of the incident and the age of those involved.