No jail for Cork teenager who attacked victim with 'life-changing' single punch

The teenager's counsel said: “He now continues to work and has made himself a useful member of society."

At Cork Circuit Criminal Court the assailant, who was 16 years old, has been given a three-year suspended jail sentence on the charge of assault causing harm. Picture Dan Linehan

A middle-aged man got into a verbal exchange with a group of teenagers hanging around outside a fast-food outlet and one of them gave him a single punch which has had a life-changing effect on the victim.

Now at Cork Circuit Criminal Court the assailant, who was 16 years old, has been given a three-year suspended jail sentence on the charge of assault causing harm. Judge Helen Boyle noted that the accused had engaged very positively with an anger management programme, as had been previously required of him.