Man suffered serious facial injuries after assault outside Mayo nightclub
Both defendants pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A pair of Brazilian men threw glasses at two other males in separate incidents on the same night.
Leonardo Jesus Rosa, aged 35, of Orlagh Grove, Castlebar, and Jao Hermino Sousa Correia, aged 22, with an address at Middleton, Manulla, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm charges when they appeared before Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
Gda Seamus Kelly told the court that he was called to the Castle Late Night Venue in Westport on December 17, 2023. He met with security staff who told him that a man had sustained cuts to his face and had a gash over his left eye.
Gda Kelly was shown CCTV footage which showed Rosa throwing a pint glass into a crowded group, striking a man in the face. The injured party sustained a 3cm deep laceration over his right eye which required stitches and had smaller cuts to his cheek and eye.
The court heard that Rosa threw a pint glass after some of his friends became involved in a pushing and shoving match with another group.
Gda Caitriona O’Malley told the court that a second incident occurred minutes later after a group of Brazilian men, including the two accused, were ejected from the nightclub.
The group were making noise on the street outside the venue, and a man entering the nightclub told them to shut up. One of the group attempted to jump a barrier to confront the man. Correia threw a pint glass from a distance which struck the man that his friend was remonstrating with.
The injured party suffered a broken jaw, four broken teeth, and a deep cut to his mouth. He has a permanent scar on his lower lip as a result of the assault. The man required surgery costing €11,000.
The court heard that Correia had left the venue with a glass in his pocket.
A victim impact statement from the man who was struck by the glass thrown by Correia was read into court. He spent three weeks in hospital following the assault and was off work for a month. The man said eating remains a challenge and he feels deeply self conscious when dining in public.
Both Rosa and Correia have no previous convictions.
Barrister Dr Laura Byrne, representing Rosa, said her client is ashamed of his actions. A painter by profession, he has been living in Ireland for the past three years and is a married father-of-one. She said Rosa acted on impulse and it was not a planned or pre-meditated act. He had €1,000 in court for his victim as a token of remorse.
Barrister John Berry, representing Correia, said his client was in Ireland on a tourist visa and had not left the jurisdiction because he wanted to face up to his crime.
An agriculture student in his native Brazil, Correia is also a married father-of-one. Despite not being eligible to work in Ireland, he had €3,000 in court as compensation for his victim.
Mr Berry asked the court if his client would be allowed to return home to Brazil if he gave an undertaking to pay the balance of the €11,000 surgery costs of the injured party.
Judge Eoin Garavan said the events were borne out of an “excess of drink and bad temper”. He said the actions of both men appeared to be out of character. The judge ordered Rosa to carry out 200 hours of community service in lieu of 18 months in prison.
In relation to Correia, Judge Garavan said he was considering imposing a three-year jail sentence but, he said, serving prison time in Ireland would not allow the defendant to earn further compensation for his victim.
He said he had great sympathy for the injured party who suffered “extraordinary injuries".
“I am inclined to be lenient, whether he deserves it or not, but perhaps his wife and his child deserve it, perhaps the State coffers deserve it, and clearly the injured party deserves far more compensation. If he is in prison he is not earning. For the injured party that’s a real insult on top of what he has already suffered. If he returns to Brazil he is capable of making money.
“I am inclined to take a punt on this man (Correia),” the judge added.
Judge Garavan handed down a three-year sentence suspended for a period of eight years.
Correia was ordered to pay back the €8,000 balance he owes the injured party for surgery costs within two years. He was told to leave Ireland within two weeks and never return.
