Court charges two girls with assault on girl, 16, in 'very serious incident' in field before teen disco
Two girls have appeared at a juvenile court in Cork charged with assault causing harm to a 16-year-old girl in a field before a teen disco in 2017.
Many of those present were drinking vodka and some of them were even selling vodka at €7 for a naggin in the field.
Judge Aingil Ní Chondúin described it as “a nasty, very serious incident involving young people – shocking behaviour at an event.”
Inspector Brian O’Donovan said at a juvenile sitting of Cork District Court that it was alleged the victim was caught by the hair and kicked in the head by two other girls.
Defence solicitor, Eddie Burke, suggested that there may have been a lot of others involved and that all parties, including the victim, had been drinking.
He also said that some of her injuries may have been sustained while climbing over fencing to get into the field in the first place at 6pm that evening.
Mr Burke said: “Just to put it in context, we are all familiar with teenage discos. Having read all the statements in the case there was quite a large congregation of young people aged 15 – 16 and quite a lot of alcohol consumed."
Mr Burke suggested that the injured party may have been “comatose because of alcohol".
Inspector Brian O’Donovan said: “The injured party and her friends went to Mint Disco at Curraheen greyhound track on October 29, 2017, and they went to UCC fields adjacent to the track, arriving at around 6pm.
“The injured party admitted drinking vodka there. She was chatting to friends and remembers someone grabbing her by the hair and being thrown to the ground.
"She remembers feeling kicks into her head and then blacking out."
"A friend of the injured party alleged that both defendants started pulling her hair and kicking her into the head. The witness said that a male helped her to carry the injured party to the next field where they were met by security and brought, then, to an ambulance and taken to Cork University Hospital. Gardaí later spoke to injured party at CUH."
“The first defendant (aged 15 at the time) admitted pushing the injured party saying the injured party pushed her first but denies the allegations of kicking her in the head and pulling her hair," said Inspector O'Donovan.
"The second defendant (aged 15 at the time) admitted pushing the injured party and punching her in the arm but denies the allegation of kicking her in the head and pulling her hair.
“The injured party spent two nights in CUH. She had bruising to her head, face and upper left thigh, a cut to the left side of her chin, a cut under her left eye and bruising to her right ear.”
Mr Burke indicated that both defendants would be willing to plead guilty to charges of assault, but not the more serious count of assault causing harm.
Judge Ní Chondúin said she is not putting pressure on any party but adjourned the case for a fortnight for people – including the Director of Public Prosecutions – to consider their positions in the case.
The alleged assault dated back to October 29, 2017.
