Teens who assaulted Indian man are jailed

Two teenagers who assaulted an Indian man on his way to a hospital appointment with his pregnant wife have been jailed by Judge Frank O'Donnell at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Jonathan Grimes (aged 19), of Rutland Street Lower, and Jonathan Parrott (aged 20), of Portland Row, both Summerhill pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Shivakumar Kataboina causing him harm on December 12, 2005.

Parrott also pleaded guilty to assaulting Garda Andrew Melbourne causing him harm and producing a knife at Portland Row on December 29, 2005.

Judge O'Donnell imposed sentences of three years on Grimes and two and a half years on Parrott for the assault on Mr Kataboina. He also imposed a concurrent sentence of three years on Parrott for the attack on Gda Melbourne.

He told them: "Your victim suffered the ultimate nightmare for any civilised person walking our streets when he was set upon gratuitously for no other reason then he happened to be on the same street as you."

Judge O'Donnell said that the assault had "devastating effects" on the couple with Mrs Kataboina returning to India as she did not wish to remain in Ireland and Mr Kataboina feeling his "life had become distorted".

He told them it had also effected their victim's concentration at his job "because he works unlike you".

Garda Tara Dolan told Ms Melanie Greally BL, prosecuting, that Grimes had 75 previous convictions including threats to kill, assault and theft. Parrott had 34 convictions for similar offences.

Gda Dolan said that Mr Kataboina and his wife were walking through the Summerhill area on their way to the Rotunda hospital when they saw four youths, including the two accused, drinking outside a house.

She said the couple stopped for a minute as 16 weeks pregnant Mrs Kataboina was feeling faint and they were approached by Parrott who asked them the time. Mr Kataboina did not reply as he was concerned about his wife and Parrott repeated the question. Mr Kataboina replied that it was 8.30 am.

Parrott asked Mr Kataboina where he was from and he replied that he was Indian. Grimes then ran over wielding an upturned beer bottle and threw it at the couple, missing them but covering the woman in beer.

Parrott then hit Mr Kataboina on the head three times with the bottle while Grimes restrained the victim.

Gda Dolan came upon the altercation and recognised the two thugs who ran off. She stayed with the couple until they were taken to hospital.

Parrott and Grimes were seen by gardai some days later in an intoxicated state and Grimes was arrested while Parrott ran off and was chased by Gda Melbourne. He managed to get into his family home where his mother and some other children were hostile to gardai and attempted to obstruct them.

Parrott struck Gda Melbourne on the face with a closed fist and threw a tin at gardai before wielding a knife in a menacing manner, forcing gardai to withdraw and wait for back up.

Ms Geraldine Small BL, defending Grimes, said he had instructed her to offer his apologies . He came from a tragic background where he had suffered several family bereavements and his mother was in court to support him but did not condone his behaviour.

Ms Small submitted that drug and alcohol abuse was at the root of his offending and said he was attempting to turn his life around.

Mr John Fitzgerald BL, defending Parrott, said he had been drinking prior to the offences and also wished to apologise to the injured parties.

Mr Fitzgerald said Parrott had a difficult family background and had frequently witnessed drug abuse and violence as he was growing up. He began abusing alcohol and sleeping tablets at a young age and started a cycle of offending, going into custody and being released before re-offending.