Three Years Suspended

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You may recall the assault on a man and a woman on the Number 40 bus near Old Kilmainham village, Dublin 8, in July of last year – the latter stages of which were filmed (above).

They found the guy.

And this happened.

The Irish Independent reports:

A Dublin man who carried out a prolonged violent attack on two people in a row over a seat on a bus has received a three-year suspended sentence. [Peter] Harte of Kildonan Road, Finglas, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to Pedro Mendez [from Portugal] and Gabriella Leon [from Mexico] at Old Kilmainham Road, Dublin on July 24, 2014.”

Judge Desmond Hogan said Harte must carry out 240 hours voluntary work in the community as part of the suspended sentence and finish up participation with the Restorative Justice Programme. He also said Harte must also undergo drug, alcohol and anger management programmes if deemed suitable and ordered that the €1,500 he had raised as a token of remorse be passed on to the victims.”

“…He grabbed Mr Mendez’s long hair and got him into a headlock and whispered into his ear: “I’m going to kill you”. The victim pleaded with him, saying “Just let me go, I will get off the bus”.

“Ms Leon described Harte’s attack as being like a boxer in a fight. She called gardaí on her phone but Harte continued the attack. Ms Leon began recording the attack on her phone and when Harte saw her doing this he swung at her, knocking the phone away. He punched her face with a closed fist and continued punching her to the back of her head when she turned away from him to protect herself.”

Man headbutted, kicked and punched man and woman on Dublin Bus in row over a seat, court told (Irish Independent)

Previously: Who Is He?

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76 thoughts on “Three Years Suspended

  1. Manta Rae

    ‘Ms Leon began recording the attack on her phone and when Harte saw her doing this he swung at her, knocking the phone away. He punched her face with a closed fist and continued punching her to the back of her head when she turned away from him to protect herself.’

    He commits a serious assault against against a young woman. He commits a similar assault against her male companion. He has previous. Why wasn’t he jailed?

    1. Cup of tea anyone

      Course he wasn’t jailed. Sure its not like anyone was stuck in their car for an hour with the ability to leave at any time. If he had thrown an egg at them though he would have been in some serious sh!t.

      1. Neilo

        Item No 1 on the capital infrastructure programmes should have been four new prisons, properly resourced, mind. It’s time like this I’d like to invent a time machine, so I could travel back in time and shoot Peter’s dad* in the mickey before he got up on whatever poor unfortunate woman dribbled this animal out of her foo.

        *Randy The Rabid Rottweiler

    2. Shane

      No jail time is a disgrace. Those people have to live having been victims of a vicious attack he gets to sit at home smug that he got away with it. What is wrong with these judges?

    3. Tom M

      So,
      Here’s the thing – 1. He turned himself in. 2. He pleaded guilty. In doing so, he spared the courts and gardai a lot of money and resources and he prevented the need for the victims to re-live the ordeal and have to testify. There needs to be some incentive for turning yourself in and pleading guilty.

      1. meadowlark

        That doesn’t really take away from the fact that he threatened to kill a man and then proceeded to punch a woman repeatedly in full view on public transport. He should have received jail time in addition to the sentance handed down. What an awful man.

      2. delacaravanio

        1. He would have been caught even if he didn’t hand himself in. Dublin bus CCTV it’s incredibly high quality.

        2. Last figures I saw were 85% of people brought before circuit criminal court plead guilty. He’s a violent offender. Plenty of non-violent offenders who plead guilty are jailed each day.

        The restorative justice was the reason he didn’t get sent down for this. Restorative justice involves victim input and criminals attempting to right their wrong via community service.

      3. Nollaig

        In the article that i read it said that the Guards found who he was from a tip off, which would suggest that he did not hand himself in.

        So, he pleaded guilty, when the cops show up on his door step with Dublin Bus CCTV and mobile footage and various witnesses – like he has any choice…

        His incentive should have been a reduced jail term.

    1. manolo

      He only had 11 previous convictions, most related to alcohol and one for robbery and assault. Nice guy with huge potential for reform.

      1. sǝɯǝɯ ʇɐ pɐq

        How would you advocate treating a recidivist like him?
        Prison?
        A death sentence?

        How about compulsory remedial therapy, SIX 40hr weeks of community work and a fine that probably exceeds his monthly income? And 3yrs suspended.

        Prison is the answer to nothing.
        We need schools and hospitals, not prisons.

        1. D2dweller

          No, he needs to be removed from society. Prison is completely the right answer. To say any different is bull.

    1. Sancho

      Likely he’s a junkie knacker who’ll never amount to anything. He’ll be in jail eventually. If society doesn’t pay for jail for him now, it’ll just pay his social welfare that till he ends up in jail.

      So many crazy judges…

      1. ahjayzis

        God help the poor f**pers on the recieving end of whatever crime finally lands this social cancer in prison.

        Laws in Ireland exist PURELY for people of middle to modest means, who try to obey them as much as they can – exist above or below that and you’re the boss.

    1. ahjayzis

      +1

      Now THAT would be restorative justice. This guy will make more victims – does it never enter his head one of them might be someone belonging to him?

  2. The People's Hero

    Ah jaysus yerhoner ids de dhrink that has me messed up…. and dhe druugs….. shewer i don’t know what i do be doin’ half de toyem……

    Scumbag should be imprisoned.

  3. john

    Total non-sense and somebody is probably off to jail for something trivial like sitting in the road a blocking a car **Cough**Jobstown**

  4. Starina

    scumbag ought to be locked up – punching a woman in the back of the head?! this is the kind of guy who’s going to end up kicking someone to death on a night out for the laugh.

    1. Jake38

      You got it in one, realPolitics. The only ones not laughing at the taxpayers expense are the lawyers firmly clamped to the gravy train. What exactly is the point of a justice “system” which investigates a vicious assault on a woman, finds the person guilty and then lets him off? Can someone explain to me what has been achieved here?

      1. ahjayzis

        These be-wigged idiots think everyone is as sensitive an upper-middle-class flower as they are. That the ignominy and shame of a ‘suspended sentence on their record’ will mortify them into going straight.

        They really have no clue. Filth like this guy will wear it as a badge of honour. Guarantee he’ll be belting out “I fought the law and the law lost” in some grotty pub tonight.

  5. Scundered

    Disgusting outcome. All that fella has learned is he can do that sort of thing and walk away from it as long as he doesn’t do it again for a while.

    1. sǝɯǝɯ ʇɐ pɐq

      He got 240hrs community service, a €1,500 fine and has to undergo drug, alcohol and anger management programmes, plus his suspended sentence.

      But that’s none of my business.

      1. The Bird in the Box

        so he got away with it. that’s not a punishment for what he did. he’ll barely show up for the community service and some family member probably stumped up the €1500.

        1. ahjayzis

          We didn’t miss it. It’s irrelevant.
          Have you ever been a victim of a violent assault? The major thing, beyond the actual physical injuries, is that you’re imprisoned for months, even years afterwards. You’re afraid all the time, of going out at night, deserted paths, strangers.

          The victims get a custodial sentence, this leech didn’t – that’s the point we’re making.

      1. Peter Dempsey

        It’s a dig at those do-gooders who swarm over threads acting outraged when a well-off person gets a light sentence

        When a poor person gets off [often with multiple convictions] they say nothing.

        1. Caroline

          Great point. Imagine he had hit her with a sock full of untaxed garlic. Doesn’t bear thinking about.

  6. Frilly Keane

    Wha’

    A suspended sentence?!?!?
    This lunatic needs to be taken out’ve circulation

    Christ t’night
    Is it any wonder

    Here. Tell us,
    Do Pedro and Manuela have a case v Dublin Bus ?
    Please say yeah.

  7. Fergus the magic postman

    On top of this, I’ve just been reading the news that a barman who barged into his ex girlfriends bedroom and stabbed her boyfriend with a steak knife has received a three year suspended sentence.

    What in the name of Jaysus is going on in this country?

  8. Kolmo

    This horrific nonsense is what runs through my mind nearly every time I get on certain buses/luas or walk through town. A strata of ferals have festered for generations, electorally unimportant unless they venture into the spaces occupied by the normals, even then…see above

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