Youth who jumped on man's head given suspended sentence

A 17-year-old youth who left a man in a coma by jumping on his head has been given a four-year prison sentence, with two suspended, by Judge Frank O'Donnell at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

His co-accused, Jamie O'Reilly (aged 18) of Parslikstown Court, Mulhuddart got a three-year sentence with two suspended for his role in assaulting the man, who had been out at the pub celebrating his birthday with friends.

The teenagers pleaded guilty to assaulting the 29-year-old man on a roadside in the early hours of February 2, 2007.

Garda Karl Smith said colleagues in an unmarked car spotted the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, jumping two feet in the air onto the man's head while he lay still on the roadside.

He told prosecution counsel, Ms Karen O'Connor BL, that the victim was breathing irregularly and there was blood on the ground beside him before an ambulance rushed him to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown.

The man woke up from his coma several days later and said in his victim impact statement that he has no recollection of the night apart from being in a pub with his friends.

He outlined that he lost two and a half stone during his recovery and received 18 staples in his head, a wire to correct his broken jaw and had to eat food through a straw.

The victim added he has short term memory loss, a lack of concentration and loss of patience since the attack.

Gda Smith said O'Reilly claimed the man reacted aggressively when the teenagers commented on his "locked" state as he was passing by the field where they had been drinking.

O'Reilly told gardaí he hit the man several punches in the chest before his younger friend jumped on the victim's head.

Defence counsel for the 17-year-old, Mr Breffni Gordon BL, submitted that his client has no previous convictions and hasn't come to adverse garda attention since the offence.

O'Reilly's counsel, Mr Luigi Rea BL, submitted that his client also has no previous convictions and intends to finish his college course.