A teenager has been jailed for two years for a racist assault on a law student that caused him to lose sight in one eye.
Aaron Shattock (19) of Kingswood Heights, Tallaght, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm on August 21th, 2013, at exit 11 of the M50 in Tallaght.
The victim, DIT student Yasser Saud (19), was in the park with his cousin Hudi Saud and a female friend when they met Shattock and another man who were both known to their female friend.
Shattock and the other man feigned normality until the arrival of a gang of up to 12 others. They then began racially abusing the Iraqi cousins, calling them “Pakis”.
Judge Martin Nolan described Shattock as having the "perfect mitigation" and said he was satisfied it was a once-off, but added that the crime had to be "totally condemned".
The judge said the attack had left the victim with an incredibly serious injury which will preclude him from playing sport, reduce his confidence and interrupt his life.
He accepted Shattock’s remorse, previous clean record and the fact he didn’t intend to blind the injured party.
Judge Nolan told the court it gave him no pleasure to send Shattock to jail as the other attackers will likely not face the criminal justice system.
He apologised on behalf of the court for what happened to the victim because of Shattock’s “singular lack of judgment” and added that “most people in this room who have children would feel sorry for both parents”.
The judge imposed a 3½-year sentence with the final 18 months suspended on strict conditions.
Garda Brian Hurl told Gerardine Small, prosecuting, that the group had begun a prolonged assault on the cousins. Shattock picked up a large stick and swung it at them. He smashed it over Hudi Saud's arm, before another man identified as "Braggo" punched him in the side of the face. The gang then began "laying into" Hudi Saud, while Shattock threw a piece of the broken stick at Yasser Saud from a distance of three feet, striking him in the right eye.
The cousins were punched and kicked several more times by Shattock and other unidentified assailants before the gang fled, leaving Hudi Saud “knocked out and covered in blood”. He suffered a broken jaw while Yasser Saud suffered severe blood trauma and optic nerve damage to his eye, effectively blinding him in that eye. His vision is not expected to recover.
Reading his own victim impact statement to the court, Yasser Saud said that he is paranoid that people will notice the damage to his vision, and that he can no longer play sports because he has lost hand-eye co-ordination. He said he “shies away from people” and his friendships have “a sympathetic and fake feel” to them.
Shattock was arrested at his home two days after the incident. He disputed the victim’s version of events but admitted throwing the stick at Yasser Saud, saying he didn’t know where it had struck him.
Garda Hurl agreed with Colman Fitzgerald, defending, that Shattock has no previous convictions, had assisted gardaí with their inquiries, and expressed genuine remorse for the harm he had caused. Garda Hurl described Shattock as "not the worst fella I ever met".
Mr Fitzgerald told Judge Martin Nolan that Shattock completed his Leaving Certificate last year, and is employed full-time. He said the incident was out of character for him and he is trying to distance himself from the others involved.