Three years jail for teen after schoolboy blinded in one eye

A teenager who smashed a glass in the face of a schoolboy leaving him permanently blind in his left eye has been jailed for three years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Justin Cullinan (aged 19) claimed that he threw a pint glass at the then 16-year-old because he perceived himself to be under threat. He denied that he had actually punched the victim with it.

The two teenagers were amongst a large group of youths who were out celebrating their mid-term break in a city centre nightclub. There had been “an atmosphere of tension” as there had been a rugby match that day between two Dublin schools and there had been rivalry between the two teams.

Cullinan, of Knocklyon Mews, Templeogue, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the teenager on February 8, 2008. He has no previous convictions and has not come to garda attention since.

Judge Katherine Delahunt said Cullinan’s response to the perceived threat was “disproportionate in any circumstances” and that the victim impact report in the case made for sad reading.

She said the case was a tragedy for both families but that a custodial sentence was appropriate. Cullinan and his family wept as he was led away by prison officers.

Detective Garda Brian Sheerin told Mr Shane Costelloe BL, prosecuting, that the assault was so serious that an incident room was sent up at the garda station and over 300 statements were taken during the course of the investigation. The majority of those witnesses were underage and had been attending an over 18s nightclub.

He said the victim went upstairs in the nightclub and noted that a school friend was surrounded by a group of four boys from another school. There were raised voices and "general slagging" so he turned around to see if there was a space that he could move back to, to avoid the situation.

Det garda Sheerin said it was at this stage that the glass was smashed in his face. The teenager later told gardaí that the man who hit him had been one of the four that had been surrounding his friend moments earlier.

The boy described himself as being punched with the glass and said that it broke around the bridge of his nose in between eyes. He could not open his eyes after the impact but initially thought this was due to grit or dirt.

The victim was taken to the Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital were he immediately underwent surgery.

Det garda Sheerin said that Cullinan was later arrested and accepted that he had struck the teenager but claimed that he had thrown the glass rather than physically smashed it in his face.

He said he thought “something was going to happen” and felt that he had behaved in an appropriate manner to defend himself.

Det garda Sheerin said a medical report before the court concluded that the victim’s left eye is permanently blind and the prognosis for “further visual recovery” in it is very poor. He will need ongoing surgery.

A victim impact report, prepared by a clinical psychologist, stated that the teenager feels angry about the assault and it is something he has to deal with for the rest of his life. He also feels very protective of his parents and did not want them to worry about him.

Det garda Sheerin agreed with Mr Luan O Braonain SC, defending, that there had been an “atmosphere of tension” that night due to the rugby match and that this assault had not been the only “incident” at the nightclub. There had been “general jostling, pushing, shoving and antagonism” in the premises.

He further accepted that although Cullinan perceived himself to be under “some kind of aggressive threat”, he acknowledged that he “went beyond what would be permissible in law” and that during garda interview he had apologised for his actions.

Mr O Braonain said his client wished to offer his sincere apologies to the victim and his family but accepted that this was “cold comfort” because the boy has suffered a significant injury that has had a large impact on his life.

He asked the court to take into account his client’s “unblemished character” and said that he is about to start a course in sales and marketing.

“This is a case were two people leading ordinary lives now find themselves in this establishment (the courts) in circumstances that should never have been permitted to arise,” Mr O Braonain said before he described the case as "tragic”.