Man involved in Temple Bar group attack on US tourists sees jail sentence reduced

A man involved in a group attack on two American tourists in Temple Bar, after they tried to stop the group from interfering with an unconscious man lying on the ground, has had his five-year jail term reduced to two on appeal.

Man involved in Temple Bar group attack on US tourists sees jail sentence reduced

A man involved in a group attack on two American tourists in Temple Bar, after they tried to stop the group from interfering with an unconscious man lying on the ground, has had his five-year jail term reduced to two on appeal.

Ian Dent (aged 22), of Stanaway Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12 had pleaded not guilty to two counts of violent disorder at Merchant's Arch opposite the Ha'penny Bridge and at nearby Crampton Quay on April 29, 2012.

The two American tourists had to travel to Ireland twice for the trial in which Dent was found guilty and subsequently sentenced to five years' imprisonment by Mr Justice Patrick McCartan on July 29, 2014.

Two other Dublin men were jailed for their roles in the incident along with Dent on that date and a fourth man was jailed separately having pleaded guilty to the charges.

The Court of Appeal found Dent's five year sentence to be excessive in June and a new sentence of three years imprisonment with the final 12 months suspended was imposed on him today.

Speaking on behalf of the three-judge Court of Appeal today, Mr Justice John Edwards said the “threatening and menacing” behaviour displayed by Dent towards the Americans appeared “all too common in the Temple Bar area” and “should be deprecated”.

However, Mr Justice Edwards said it was an error for the sentencing judge to foreclose on the option of incentivising rehabilitation in Dent's sentence when he had been demonstrating a track record of progress.

Mr Justice Edwards, who sat with Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan and Mr Justice Alan Mahon, imposed a new sentence of three years imprisonment on Dent with the final 12 months suspended.

The court heard that the two American tourists suffered “very significant injuries” as a result of the attack – one suffered a broken arm and the other permanent facial scarring from a broken battle.

Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Kerida Naidoo BL, said a man had been lying unconscious on the ground in Temple Bar when a group of people including Dent proceeded to interfere with him.

The two Americans tried to help the man on the ground. A melee ensued and it was accepted by the jury that the fight was started by Dent's group, Mr Naidoo said.

Following that incident, everybody left Temple Bar - the Americans turned right along the quays towards O'Connell Street and the group of men turned left towards Heuston Station.

At that stage, Mr Naidoo said, the event was over. It would have been an unpleasant story for the Americans to tell back home but it would have been the end of it.

However, the group decided to chase the Americans and very significant injuries were inflicted on them, Mr Naidoo said.

Moving an appeal against sentence, Dent's barrister, Padraig Dwyer SC, submitted that his client was not legally responsible for the injuries inflicted on the Americans but got the very same sentence as the man who did.

Counsel said five years was “just too much” in all the circumstances.

Mr Dwyer said Dent was a young man at that time of the offence with no previous convictions in the Circuit Court. He had not come to the gardaí's attention for two years and three months after the incident, was “on the cusp” of starting college three months after he was sentenced and was a promising footballer who had trialled with League of Ireland clubs.

During the incident Dent had tried to hold some individuals back, Mr Dwyer said and the trial judge had failed to take account of that. He had also tried to defuse the situation earlier on in the night.

In a letter written to the three-judge court, Dent began with an apology and maintained that he was never a violent person.

He wrote that the 11 months he had spent in prison have been the “hardest of his life”, Mr Dwyer said.

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