Former Longford county councillor given benefit of Probation Act for assault charge

A former Longford county councillor accused of assault was given the benefit of the Probation Act at Longford District Court after he pleaded guilty to the offence.

Gerald Farrell (43) of Aughamore, Lanesboro, Longford came before Judge Bernadette Owens charged with a Section 2 assault on Sara O'Connor at Adie Farrell's Bar, Main St, Lanesboro on January 8, 2022.

Counsel for the State, Shane Geraghty BL, said the matter originally came before the court in March of this year when the defendant was facing a sexual assault charge in respect of the incident, however this was changed to the lesser assault charge.

Prosecution witness Detective Garda Deirdre Morris outlined the details of the matter before the court. The witness said the incident took place on Saturday, January 8, 2022.

The injured party, Ms O'Connor, was visiting a friend in Lanesboro and they went to Adie Farrell's Pub with a group of her friends at about 7:30pm on the evening in question.

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The Detective Garda said the group were drinking and went out to the smoking area in the course of the evening. Mr Farrell, who was known to other members of the group, engaged in conversation with them.

When speaking to Ms O'Connor he said he was low on staff and the victim said she had bar and waitress experience. Mr Farrell asked for her Snapchat details and in the course of the evening exchanged messages with her on the online platform.

Mr Farrell closed the pub, but the group stayed on “chatting and singing”. The defendant got a round of drinks for the group and sat in on the couch beside Ms O'Connor.

At around 1:07am Ms O'Connor felt a “flick on her right thigh”, she was “shocked, upset and welled up”. Mr Farrell got another round of drinks, but Ms O'Connor did not drink hers.

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The group left the bar at 1:50am. The following day Ms O'Connor returned home and when she spoke to her mother about what had happened she got upset, started crying and became hysterical about the incident, which was described as “a pinch”.

Detective Garda Morris told the court that on April 27, 2022 she met Mr Farrell by arrangement to speak to him about the matter. She said he was 41 years of age at the time and in a relationship, and his partner had given birth to a child three months earlier.

The defendant said he had “just sent some silly Snapchats” and denied sexual assault. He volunteered passwords for his phone and allowed access to the pub CCTV.

Most of the group with Ms O'Connor declined to make a statement. One female member of the group expressed reluctance, saying that they knew both parties and didn't want to get involved, however they added that “if sometime of that order (sexual assault) had happened I would have got up and left”.

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The CCTV footage of the incident was shown to the court. Ms O'Connor could be seen sitting on the couch in the bar with her legs tucked up and her arms wrapped around them. The defendant was on his phone sitting beside her.

Mr Farrell was visible in the footage moving his hand toward the victim, who made a sudden movement.

In cross examination Michael Bowman SC, counsel for the defendant, put it to Detective Garda Morris that there were discrepancies between the account Ms O'Connor initially gave to Gardai and what is visible on CCTV.

“You can see from the footage that she did not say “get off me”, she did not jump up and she did not say “what the f**k” when the incident happened,” Mr Bowman said.

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Counsel explained that a family member of Mr Farrell had died in a car accident on the day of the incident. Mr Bowman described a “split second of gross stupidity” that brought his client before the court.

He said his client is an active member of the local IFA and GAA. Counsel said Mr Farrell's relationship at the time had been in difficulty, and has since broken down and he now has limited access to his son.

Ms O'Connor took to the witness stand to give her victim impact statement. The victim described “suffering behind closed doors for two years” awaiting the trial.

She said at that time she had “wanted to end it all” and said it could have ruined her relationship, but the support and love of her partner and her family had helped her through.

The victim acknowledged she had accepted €5,000 in compensation from the defendant.

In closing Mr Bowman asked Judge Owens to consider a number of factors. He pointed out that Mr Farrell had been drinking during the day and that violence or threats were not a factor in the case.

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He said the defendant approached the prosecution “responsibly, realistic and as faithfully as he could”. Mr Bowman asked to judge to note the “considerable contribution” Mr Farrell makes to his community.

In concluding matters Judge Owens commended the victim on her impact statement. The judge observed that the court has the benefit of “an independent eye” in the CCTV, which she said gave a clear picture of the assault and the aftermath.

“It's my job to impose a penalty that is proportionate,” Judge Owens said. The judge noted a number of factors including that Mr Farrell had no relevant previous convictions, cooperated fully with the investigation and assisted the progress of the prosecution with a guilty plea.

Judge Owens also pointed out the defendant had apologised to the injured party, expressed remorse and paid a sum of compensation.

Taking all the facts into consideration the judge said the matter would be dealt with by Section 1.1 of the Probation Act.

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