There is no justice said the victims because soldiers avoid jail

A woman beaten in the street by a serving soldier who later bragged about it on social media has criticized the Irish justice system after she avoided prison.

Cathal Crotty, 22, attacked Natasha O’Brien, 24, punching her six times after she pleaded with him not to shout homophobic abuse.

Ms O’Brien’s injuries included a broken nose and bruising. He told the court that he suffered nightmares and panic attacks.

Crotty was given a three-year suspended sentence on Thursday.

The judge described the attack as a “cowardly, vicious, unprovoked” attack.

However, he said the defendant “must be given credit” for his guilty plea and told the court he had “no doubt” that Crotty’s army imprisonment “ended his career”.

Speaking outside court on Thursday, Ms O’Brien said: “This is not justice.”

He added that Crotty had pledged, when he joined the Irish Defense Force, to “protect the citizens and civilians of Ireland”.

“They’re using special combat training that’s taxpayer money – to provide training for our defense forces – and they’re using special combat training for me.”

Ms O’Brien told BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra program on Friday that she would not go to court “if it was just about me”.

“I really, really hope that I will be able to set a good example, if you do bad things, you will get consequences – and our system has shown that it is broken,” he said.

Ms O’Brien, who did not identify her attacker, said she wanted to come forward to “use her voice” because many women were “traumatised”.

“It’s not just this guy, it’s many, many, many, young people in Ireland who go on like this, and there’s really no justice,” he added.

Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee praised Ms O’Brien’s bravery in coming forward, adding that prosecutors in the Republic of Ireland could appeal the sentence.

“I can’t praise him enough for what he has done. And the courage he has shown. It is always open to the DPP to appeal the sentence. I say that broadly,” Ms McEntee told the Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

Ms O’Brien said on Friday that an appeal was the “least of my worries”.

He said he wants to see a change in culture and laws.

“The concern for me is this allowance that has happened,” he said.

“What happened to the Irish Defense Forces? What happened to the justice system? Why are they victims?”

“I’ve been dumped and I can’t stand to see this happen to other people. It’s okay and it needs to change.”

Former Irish Army officer Tom Clonan, who is a senator in the upper house of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) says the Irish Defense Force has a problem when it comes to gender-based violence.

However, he added, every private and public organization or institution will have people in its ranks who can commit violent acts.

“I think we have a bigger challenge and the whole society there in terms of educating boys and young people about how to treat citizens,” he said in the Evening Extra.

The Irish Defense Force, which has launched an internal investigation into Crotty now that the court case is over, said it “strongly condemns any conduct by serving personnel that is contrary to or does not reflect our values”.

He added that “any conviction in a civilian court may have implications for the retention and service of members” of the defense force.

He also praised the “courage of the victim in this case, and hopes that he recovers from the injuries he sustained”.

The court heard Ms O’Brien was walking home with a female friend after working in a pub when she was attacked.

Crotty, of Parkroe Heights, Ardnacrusha, County Clare, fled the scene and, hours later, bragged about the attack to friends on Snapchat.

The court was told that he tried to blame the victim for what happened.

He told the garda (Irish police officers) who arrested him that he had caused an attack on O’Connell Street in Limerick on May 29, 2022.

He later accepted an initial account which blamed Ms O’Brien “for being all wrong” after being shown CCTV footage of the incident.

He never gave a full account of the attack.

The judge imposed a three-year prison sentence, which was suspended in full, and ordered Crotty to pay €3,000 in compensation to Ms O’Brien without prejudice to any potential civil court proceedings.

The sentence comes just two days after Women’s Aid Ireland reported it the highest rate of violence in women in charity which 50 years of operation.