Social media influencer who was assaulted in Cork city says online commentary left her humiliated

'Before this attack, I was a confident, independent and outgoing person with a life that I was proud of. That person is gone'

Selina Regazzoli: 'The online commentary surrounding the attack added another layer of trauma.' Picture: Instagram

A social media influencer who was violently attacked in a case of mistaken identity in Cork city spoke of a second layer of trauma coming from online commentary where people blamed, judged, and falsely accused her which left her feeling deeply humiliated.

Judge Dermot Sheehan yesterday imposed a sentence of five years on 25-year-old Conor Greaney of Farranferris Avenue, Farranree, Cork, who pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to the single count stating that at around 9.40am on March 7, 2024, outside the GPO on Oliver Plunkett St, Cork, he assaulted Dublin boutique owner, Selina Regazzoli, who was aged 35 at the time, causing her harm.

Ms Regazzoli said in her victim impact statement: “I remember the shock and confusion. I did not understand what was happening or why it was happening to me. As he shouted at me, I lay on the ground and looked at my foot which was now turned in the wrong direction, and I knew I could not run away.

“I was stuck there, I was in unbearable pain, petrified, shaking and completely defenceless. My ankle was broken and dislocated and I was trapped from that moment. What has stayed with me most was the panic and the fear as I lay there helpless.

'Deeply humiliating and hurtful'

“The psychological damage has been even more profound. Before this attack, I was a confident, independent and outgoing person who travelled the world for work, I had built a career and a life that I was proud of. That person is gone.

“The online commentary surrounding the attack added another layer of trauma. Reading the comments and seeing people blame me, judge me, and make false accusations about me was deeply humiliating and hurtful.

“Since the attack, I have lost my self-worth completely. I am afraid to be seen or be looked at. I am afraid to be alone in public. I am afraid of strangers. My world has become small and restricted, and I have become small and restricted.” 

Det Garda Orla Moriarty told Cork Circuit Criminal Court how on the morning in question, Ms Regazzoli had come to Cork in her job as a regional manager of a firm and was walking past the GPO on Oliver Plunkett St when Greaney ran over and punched her to the side of the head in what was an unprovoked attack on an innocent victim.

She said the victim suffered a dislocation and fracture to her right ankle and she had to be taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital to undergo surgery.

Admission to assault

Garda Moriarty said that the entire incident was captured on CCTV which clearly identified Greaney as Ms Regazzoli’s assailant, and he had admitted the assault when questioned by gardaí.

Greaney had stated at interview following his arrest that Ms Regazzoli was not the intended target of his attack, Garda Moriarty said.

The accused said he didn’t know Ms Regazzoli and that the assault on her was a case of mistaken identity as his intended victim was someone who was harassing him.

“I feel terrible, I’m disgusted with myself. I am not a monster, I didn’t intend to go as hard as I did. I didn’t intend to break anyone’s bones. I meant to more or less frighten the woman … I thought it was somebody else that was harassing me,” he said.

Garda Patrick Houlihan said the injured party sustained a ankle trimalleolar fracture to her ankle and that her foot was at an unnatural angle at the scene of the assault.

On the question of remorse, Garda Houlihan said: “He was only sorry it was not his intended target, and that he would not have changed his behaviour if it had been the intended target.” 

Defence barrister Elaine Audley pleaded for leniency, pointing out Greaney had said he would be pleading guilty at an early stage, had been free from addiction for three years before the assault but had lapsed after the death of his grandfather who had been a huge support to him.

She read excerpts from his memo of interview where he expressed shame and remorse for attacking a woman and, while it wasn’t excusing or justifying his behaviour, he thought the victim was a woman who had harassed his partner online over two miscarriages that she had suffered.

Judge Dermot Sheehan said that he agreed with the detective’s view that Greaney was “a violent and dangerous individual” and it was clear that the assault in the middle of Cork city in broad daylight had a hugely traumatic effect on the victim who had no chance to protect herself. The judge suspended the final six months of a total sentence of five years and six months.