Trinity lecturer avoids jail for throwing man down 15ft drop

A Trinity College lecturer has been given a suspended sentence for throwing a man down a 15ft drop causing him severe head injuries.

John Whipple (aged 35) claimed he attacked the victim because he had urinated on his shoes.

When an onlooker asked him why he had thrown the man over the wall, Whipple replied by shrugging his shoulders.

His victim was left with a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and facial palsy. He spent two months in hospital and was unable to close his eyes or hear for six months.

Whipple of Ashley Avenue, Swords but originally from America, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to causing serious harm to John Kennedy at Lower Abbey Street on February 11, 2011.

Judge Martin Nolan said it was unfortunate that there was a 15ft drop behind the railings. He accepted that Whipple probably did not realise how substantial the fall was but did know there was at least an 8ft drop behind the railing.

"It seems that it is unlikely that he intended to cause the injuries he had but if he had thought about it, he would have realised what he did would cause the victim serious injury," Judge Nolan said.

"He acted in the absence of judgement but does not deserve a custodial."

He sentenced him to six years in prison which he suspended entirely on the condition that he pay over €10,000 to the victim within a week.

Garda James King told prosecuting counsel Elva Duffy BL that Mr Kennedy was seen in the area stumbling around in a seemly drunken state. Whipple had finished college where he was studying for a masters and was waiting for the bus home on Abbey Street.

Mr Kennedy was seen on CCTV approaching people at the bus stop. He approached Whipple and another man and after some interaction, Whipple grabbed him by the groin and the neck and threw him over a railing.

On the other side of the railing there was a 15ft drop onto a concrete floor. Mr Kennedy hit the ground and lay in a pool of blood until gardaí and an ambulance arrived.

When someone asked Whipple why he threw the man, Whipple responded: “He pissed on my shoes and I’m sick of it.” When someone else asked him what he had done, Whipple shrugged his shoulders.

When gardaí arrived he admitted he did it. He later came to the garda station and said Mr Kennedy was drunk when he approached him. Whipple said he wouldn’t leave him alone and began to urinate on his shoes.

He claimed he didn’t want to hurt the man and didn’t realise how far the drop was on the other side of the railing. He said sorry and that he hoped Mr Kennedy was all right.

Gda King told Judge Nolan that the drop was obvious and the area was well lit.

Mr Kennedy’s other injuries included a broken pelvis and facial nerve damage for which he required plastic surgery. He spent four weeks in hospital but then contracted bacterial meningitis there and had to be hospitalised for another month.

Defence counsel Remy Farrell SC said Whipple was extremely remorseful and made immediate admissions. He presented evidence that he was studying at Trinity at the time and had been voted student of the year.

He now works as a lecturer in Trinity and is married with one child.