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Thousands protest in Ireland as soldier who attacked lady is freed

Protests have been held all over Ireland over the case of a soldier who attacked a woman on the street and got away with it.

Many people marched in Cork, Dublin, Galway, and Limerick on Saturday to support 24-year-old Natasha O'Brien, who has become a figure of how the justice system handles violence against women.

"I spoke out because I could not imagine what other victims would go through." That is enough. "Now is the time for it to end," O'Brien told the crowd in Limerick.

 

This week, O'Brien spoke out against Cathal Crotty's 22-year-old attacker getting a suspended jail term that allowed him to avoid jail. She also said that the court case had caused her more stress. A government minister called the case a "watershed moment," and campaigners called for changes to the law.

On May 29, 2022, Crotty knocked O'Brien out in Limerick city centre after she told him to stop calling people gay names.

The army private was not on duty and had been drinking. He grabbed O'Brien by the hair, threw her to the ground, and hit her at least six times, breaking her nose and giving her bruises, swelling, and a headache. After a while, he told his friends on Snapchat, "Two to put her down, two to put her out."

At first, Crotty said the victim started the fight, but he later accepted blame after CCTV video showed it was not her fault. Following a shift at a pub, O'Brien was on her way home. She did not know Cretchy.

O'Brien told the Limerick circuit criminal court that the attack made her feel like "a punching bag" and that her last thought was, "He is not stopping; I am going to die."

She said that she had long-lasting effects from her concussion, including a feeling of dread and isolation that made her act badly towards herself and caused her to lose her job. "I lost touch with reality and became numb. I lived in constant fear of seeing him again."

Crotty's boss, commander Paul Togher, told the court that the soldier from Ardnacrusha, County Clare, had done something wrong because he was a good soldier who always did what was right.

Judge Tom O'Donnell gave Crotty a three-year sentence that was fully suspended and told him to pay €3,000 in restitution. Despite calling the attack horrible, cruel, and nasty, he took into account Crotty's guilty plea, the fact that he had never been convicted of a crime before, and the fact that if he got a jail sentence, it would mean the end of his army career.

Prosecutors can appeal the sentence. The security forces said that internal investigations had started. O'Brien told the media that the sentence showed a flawed system because other attack cases also had non-custodial punishments, which made victims less likely to seek justice.

Simon Harris, the taoiseach, praised O'Brien and said acts like these were wrong. He also said, "We live in a country where there is still an epidemic of gender-based violence."

A junior minister named Malcolm Noonan told RTE it was a "watershed moment."

Helen McEntee, the justice minister, said that due to a new rule that is still being worked on, anyone who gives a character reference will have to be ready to be questioned in cases of sexual or domestic violence and violence against women.

Women's rights groups held protests under the title "not one more" and called for significant changes to the law. The Rosa group said, "A violent soldier's job is not more important than women's safety." Every day of the week, our legal system sides with people who hurt others.