‘Catastrophic consequences’ of Skibb assault sees man get 10 months in jail

A SKIBBEREEN man has been sentenced to 10 months in jail for assault causing harm, after attacking a woman in her home.

The 23-year-old accused was also sentenced to five months for assaulting the woman’s daughter, but that sentence was suspended on condition that he enter a bond to keep the peace for the next two years.

Solicitor Flor Murphy asked for recognisances to be fixed for an appeal to the circuit court, but only against the severity of the sentence, in the case against Callum Fahy of 22 Chapel Lane, Skibbereen.

The solicitor said his client had pleaded guilty to assault offences, and that he was entitled to credit, too, for the letter of apology he had written to the woman, his expression of remorse, plus the offer of €1,930.50 compensation, and the promise of more money to come.

The accused had spent the previous 14 days in custody in Cork prison, during which time Judge James McNulty had asked him to read the lengthy victim impact statement written by Denise Savage.

It was after that period of incarceration that the accused produced the letter of apology and was able to provide his solicitor with unpaid wages in the amount of €1,930.50.

Judge McNulty said that had he known the severity of the victim impact statement, he would have refused to hear the case and would have had it listed in the circuit court instead.

Giving the accused two months’ credit on a maximum sentence of 12 months for assault, Judge McNulty noted that the offer of compensation was ‘a long time coming’ given that the assault on Denise Savage and her daughter happened on May 12th 2021.

The judge said the 10-month sentence for the assault on Denise Savage – which the victim likened to be beaten by a boxer, as well as the permanent marking and harm caused by being hit on the head with a tin of wood stain – marked the ‘enduring harm’ of the assault.

Another aggravating factor, according to the judge, was that the assault – which took place at 1.20am the end of an after-party in the woman’s home at Gortnaclohy Heights – was at ‘a place where she had a right to be safe.’

The judge also listed ‘the catastrophic consequences of this assault on the Savage family’ – a reference to the fact that the husband of Denise Savage was hugely stressed by what had happened and died some months later.

‘The ferocity and the harm done was a contributory factor in the premature death of the poor man,’ said the judge.

Judge McNulty also noted the accused’s ‘grossly irresponsible use of cocaine’, citing a previous probation report in which the accused admitted he could spend between €300 and €400 on cocaine in a single night.

Amongst the 10 aggravating factors listed by the judge was the fact that the accused has nine previous convictions, one of which is for assault.

In the letter of apology, the accused said he was sorry for what he had done, and ashamed, and he hoped the victim would forgive him some day.

‘He is no stranger to the court or the offer of assistance,’ the judge said in reference to the fact that he had previously recommended the involvement of the probation service, but the accused had spurned this offer.

The accused was granted bail in the sum of €100, plus one surety of €3,000 – of which €1,000 was to be paid in cash – to appeal the conviction but, in the meantime, he is to enter a bond to keep the peace for two years.

The bail conditions also specify that he is to refrain from all controlled drug use; and he is not to communicate with the victims or their family. 

He is also to place himself under the supervision of the probation service, and he is to comply with all of their directions and requirements. 

Callum Fahy is also to submit himself for random drug testing by the probation service or the gardaí.