Boxer gets suspended sentence for unprovoked assault
A promising young boxer has been given a three year suspended sentence for an unprovoked and “brutal assault” on a young man.
Sean Turner (aged 19) broke Mr Ross Luccato’s cheekbone, deviated his septum, and left him bleeding heavily from his head and unconscious on the bathroom floor of a nightclub. He has lost his sense of smell and suffers from short term memory loss as a result of his injuries.
Mr Luccato’s friend, who had been in a cubicle in the bathroom at the time, later told gardaí that he heard a man “provoking” the victim and Mr Lucatto shouting “shut up” before he heard what appeared to be punches.
He ran out and saw a man he had spotted earlier at the urinal, kicking Mr Luccato in the torso while the victim was lying on the ground. He went over to his friend and the man left.
Turner of Rathsallagh Avenue, Shankill, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to Mr Luccato at Bodega Night Club, in Dun Laoghaire on January 4, 2009. He had no previous convictions.
Mr Luigi Rea BL, defending, told Judge Patrick McCartan that his client was a member of the Drimnagh Amateur Boxing Club and handed in a reference to court from the Irish boxing coach, the late Austin Carrouth.
He said he held a number of underage national titles and had qualified for grants from the Irish Sports Council.
Mr Rea said Mr Luccato had suffered a “very serious injury” and Turner should not have had so much to drink at the time, which left him in a state that he was not in control of himself.
Counsel told Judge McCartan that his client was now dedicated to “high performance” training in the boxing club. Turner had €3,000 in court to offer Mr Luccato as a token of his remorse.
Judge McCartan said it was a very serious case and Mr Luccato had been “brutally assaulted for no reason”.
“He floored Mr Luccato with a very determined blow, breaking his cheekbone, knocking his nose out and leaving him with a serious injury to the back of the head,” the judge said.
He described Turner as “not only a bully but also a coward”. He said Turner had knocked Mr Luccato to the ground and added “what was the need then to kick him?”
Judge McCartan noted that Turner had no previous convictions and had money as a token of his remorse for Mr Luccato but said that the victim’s confidence and short term memory is “now gone”.
“Virtually everything in this case tells me he should go to prison as a lesson to him and a lesson to others. The only thing that is saving him is the fact that he has not been in trouble before,” Judge McCartan said.
He said “with grave reluctance on my part I am going to give him a chance” before he suspended the three year term for five years on condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
“It seems he has a very good prospect of representing this country in the months and years to come and is working hard on this every day. It would be a very harsh court that would stand in the way of this prospect,” Judge McCartan said.
He also ordered that Turner pay a further €5,000 to Mr Luccato and undergo an anger management course within 12 months.
“I am very sorry judge. It will not happen again,” Turner told the judge.
