Man avoids jail for crèche head-butt

A barrister who head-butted a crèche director and broke her nose has been given a three-year, suspended sentence and told to “keep away” from his victim and any of her staff for 15 years.

Michael Waters, aged 41, of Ava Avenue, Belfast, was found guilty of assaulting the woman and causing her harm at her Dublin crèche on Jan 4, 2012. He denied the offence.

During the trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, the victim told the court she had been in her office beside the crèche on the day in question when one of her staff phoned at about 12pm to say Waters had arrived.

She said she ran to the crèche where children were eating and asked to speak to Waters in her office.

The woman claimed Waters said he was not leaving and became upset and pushed her twice, with his hands on her shoulders and then on her chest.

Some of the young children in the room began to cry when they saw the accused becoming “quite aggressive”. She went outside the room with Waters, who turned to go back in.

The woman had her hand on the door stopping Waters from getting back in and said he was shouting and trying to bang her hand off the door.

She said Waters told her he was going to bite her and did try to bite her face and her hand.

“He leaned back against the door and looked at me quite coldly and said: ‘I’m going to hurt you.’ Then he head-butted me straight into the face,” she said.

The victim said she was shocked and her nose was bleeding. She said Waters told her: “I did nothing to you, you did that to yourself,” before he turned, tripped over his feet, and landed on the ground.

The court heard Waters has a muscle-wasting condition that leaves him unsteady on his feet and that a staff member had previously seen him falling over.

The victim said Waters fell a second time, and that when a staff member tried to help him, she told the staff member to leave him because she was afraid he would get aggressive again.

The jury was shown photographs of the woman’s injuries, including a fractured nasal bone which required surgery, and bruising to her eyes and arms.

Colm O’Briain BL, prosecuting, gave the court a victim impact report, in which the woman said she continues to suffer from stress, anxiety, and distress as a result of the assault.

Waters said the director became physical with him after a verbal disagreement. He said the injuries to the victim’s nose came from when she pulled him from behind and he lost his balance and fell on top of her.

He said he was assaulted by both the crèche director and the deputy manager, who had both had pulled him to the ground and caused him a knee injury.

However, his defence counsel, Marie Torrens BL, said he accepts the verdict of the jury and has expressed remorse for the injuries he inflicted on the woman.

Ms Torrens said her client is self-employed and does some part-time lecturing in law at the Institute in Belfast, as well as teaching chess to young children.

Waters has no previous convictions.

Judge Patricia Ryan gave Waters a three-year suspended sentence and ordered that he is to have no contact with the injured party, her crèche or any other establishment operated by her in the past or future, for 15 years.