Cathal Crotty to be discharged from Defence Forces on Thursday

The DPP has lodged an appeal against the sentence given to Crotty on the basis of undue leniency.

A solider who assaulted a woman in a random attack is to be discharged from the Defence Forces on Thursday.

Cathal Crotty, with an address at Parkroe Heights, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, pleaded guilty to assaulting Natasha O’Brien in Limerick in 2022.

The 22-year-old walked free from court after being given a three-year suspended sentence for the attack in a case that prompted protests across the country and put pressure on the Government to tackle violence against women.

The Defence Forces confirmed in a statement that Crotty was being discharged on Thursday.

“The Defence Forces unequivocally condemns any actions by serving personnel that are contrary to military regulations or that do not reflect our values,” it said in a statement.

The DPP has lodged an appeal against the sentence given to Crotty on the basis of undue leniency.

Crotty beat Ms O’Brien unconscious in a random street attack on May 29, 2022, and boasted about it afterwards on social media.

He initially told gardaí it was Ms O’Brien who instigated the attack at O’Connell Street, Limerick, but admitted his guilt after gardaí showed him CCTV footage of him attacking her.