Man jailed in connection with assault on murdered Polish men
A father-of-one was out on bail for several crimes when he attacked two Polish mechanics with the man who murdered them.
Seán Keogh (aged 21) of Vincent Street West, Inchicore was sentenced to four years in prison today for kicking Pawel Kalite in the head, seconds after David Curran had stabbed him through the skull with a screwdriver.
Curran, of Lissadel Green in Drimnagh, then stabbed Mr Kalite’s flatmate, Marius Swajkos, in the same way. The 19-year-old is serving life for their murder.
Earlier this month, a jury acquitted Keogh of murdering both men on February 23, 2008 outside their home on Benbulben Road. He pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Mr Kalite, a charge put to him just before the jury began its deliberations after a three week trial.
Detective Garda William Ryan told the Central Criminal Court that Keogh had 75 previous convictions.
He said that on May 26 last year he was sentenced to five years in prison for two counts of endangerment. He also received a five-year sentence for criminal damage, three years for the unauthorised taking of a vehicle and six months for driving without insurance, with his driving without a licence taken into consideration.
He was banned from driving for seven years for dangerous driving on the same occasion. All sentences were concurrent, with the last two years suspended.
Det Gda Ryan explained that Keogh got bail on these charges on August 30, 2007 so was out on bail when he kicked a dying Pawel Kalite in the head.
Mr Justice Liam McKechnie noted that Keogh was not part of the "inconsequential scuffle" that took place outside a chipper before the attack on the Polish men.
“It was none of his business to get involved in the aftermath at all,” he said.
David Curran was summoned to the chipper after this scuffle and Keogh was with him.
“A decision was made, which I’m convinced was to the effect in Seán Keogh’s mind to get the men involved,” said the judge. He said that he and others accompanied a screaming and roaring David Curran to the Polish men’s house and that Keogh knew Curran had a screwdriver.
“He saw David Curran, with frightening speed and deadly accuracy, strike Pawel Kalite at least once,” he said. “Seán Keogh then delivered a vicious kick to Pawel Kalite.”
The judge noted that Keogh delivered the kick to the most vulnerable part of his body, the head.
“He was a dying man. He was utterly exposed and defenceless, without any protection,” he said of Mr Kalite.
“It wasn’t enough that David Curran had stabbed Pawel Kalite to satisfy Seán Keogh’s lust for harm. He had to feed his own lust and did so. He showed utter contempt for a fellow human,” he continued.
“It showed a deep and sickening sense of personality to which society should not be exposed. On any level it was pure thuggery,” he said.
“If he’s capable of doing this sort of thing, what else is he capable of doing?” he asked.
The judge said that the law and courts had to deal in an aggressive way with this and provide a level of protection. Condemnation was not enough he said; action was necessary and sentence was the only available action.
Having been told that five years was the maximum sentence, the judge said a sentence of four and a half years was appropriate.
He noted a number of factors put forward by the defence as mitigation, including the evidence by the partner and mother of Keogh’s child, Sarah Adams. Ms Adams told the court that she and their three-year-old daughter visit Keogh in jail every week.
“She said he’s matured in prison,” noted the judge. “I only hope that she’s right.”
He noted that their daughter was about nine months old when her father committed the assault.
“I wonder what regard he had for (the baby) then?” he asked. “I wonder why he wasn’t at home then looking after his daughter of nine months. I suspect she is wondering the same.”
He took Keogh’s fatherhood into consideration along with his remorse and willingness to tackle his alcohol problems and he suspended the final six months of the sentence.
The four-year jail term will begin on June 9, when his endangerment sentence is due to expire. Keogh’s family hugged him as he was led back to jail.
The victims’ former employer, Alan Kennedy, said afterwards that the men’s families accepted that there was a proper trial and jury and were happy with the verdict. They now had closure, he said.
Keogh’s solicitor, Cahir O’Higgins, said Keogh apologised and that the thoughts of the Keogh family were with the victims’ families.
