State wins appeal against suspension of sentence for serious assault

A man who received a suspended sentence for repeatedly stabbing a Polish national, leaving him with life-threatening injuries, now faces a jail term of two-and-a-half years following a successful appeal by the State.

The Court of Criminal Appeal today found that the three-year suspended sentence imposed on James Boland (aged 27) for a “savage and brutal” attack on Gregorz Mylnarski was unduly lenient and substituted it with one of five years with two-and-a-half years suspended.

However, Boland will not begin serving the sentence until April next year, after his currently expectant wife has given birth.

Boland, of Kerdiff Close, Naas, Co Kildare, had pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to Gregorz Mylnarski and to assault causing harm to Magdalena Mylnarski, at Maplewood Road, Tallaght, on February 10, 2007.

Judge Desmond Hogan handed down a three-year suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in June last year after noting one of Boland’s children had a serious medical condition and was heavily reliant on him as a care-giver.

The sentencing judge remarked that Boland’s immediate family and son, who suffers from cerebral palsy, would “fare badly” if he were to impose a custodial sentence.

The court heard that Boland twice attacked a group of four Polish nationals who were making their way to a LUAS stop, going as far as to leave the scene so he could “tool up”, get a knife and set upon the group again.

Boland stabbed Mr Mylnarski four times as he and his friends attempted to retreat from the scene, while witnesses told gardaí that the victim was also kicked several times as he lay on the ground.

The court heard that Mr Mylnarski lost four litres of blood, suffered damage to his pancreas and bowel and that he would have died were it not for the intervention of the hospital services.

Mr Mylnarski’s wife Magdalena was also stabbed once to the thigh as she tried to protect her husband while another member of their group received a stab wound to his shoulder during the incident.

Boland does not face any charges in relation to this second man. He has 14 previous convictions including a drink driving charge and a public order offence.

Counsel for the State, Mr Vincent Heneghan BL, said Boland had carried out a pre-meditated stabbing of a man to “within an inch of his life” and that a three-year sentence in these circumstances was “wholly inappropriate” and could not be seen as anything other than unduly lenient.

He said that, notwithstanding the mitigating factors in the case, Judge Hogan had failed to identify that the offence lay on the “mid to upper end” of the scale of seriousness.

Mr Erwan Mill-Arden SC, for Boland, said that it was “perfectly clear” that Judge Hogan appreciated the seriousness of the case but his “hands were tied” by a report that indicated Boland and his partner were the trained carers for their child and that his family would not manage should he be sent to jail.

He submitted that Boland had consumed three bottles of spirits on the night of the offence, which limited his ability to comprehend matters, but had pleaded guilty was now a “model citizen” in terms of caring for his family.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman said that Boland had perpetrated a “brutal and sadistic” attack with a knife and it was his good fortune that he was not before the courts on a murder or manslaughter charge.

He noted that Boland had made no attempt to compensate his victim, for whom the attack was of “life-altering significance”.

Mr Justice Hardiman said the court noted Boland’s very difficult domestic situation and the illness of his child but regarded the appropriate sentence as one of five years with two-and-a-half years suspended.

After submissions from Mr Mill-Arden, the court agreed to delay the commencement of this sentence until April 14, 2012.