Woman travelling on Luas was beaten over head with bottle and 'fat shamed' by teens

Tom Tuite

A Dublin woman travelling on the Luas was beaten over her head with a glass bottle before being kneed and kicked in the face after “fat shaming” by teenagers, a court heard.

One of the attackers, a girl then aged 16, pleaded guilty on Tuesday at the Dublin Children’s Court to assault causing harm to the passenger on May 22nd last year. She will be sentenced in December.

Garda Darragh Cashe told Judge Paul Kelly that he met the victim at Dawson Street afterwards, and she informed him that she had been attacked on the tram while travelling northbound.

The court heard that three youths, two female and one male, “were fat shaming her” before there was a physical altercation.

Garda Cashe said that one girl, yet to be identified, struck the woman’s head with a glass bottle, and the defendant also attacked her.

“The injured party was hit a number of times by the defendant, kneed, kicked once in the face and kicked at least another two times,” Garda Cashe said.

The accused, now 18, had no convictions but awaits sentence in the Circuit Court for another offence.

The male travelling with them on the Luas did not get involved in the attack.

The victim did not have to testify or face cross-examination because the accused changed her plea to guilty just before her hearing. However, the woman was in court and provided a written victim impact statement, which was not read aloud.

She told the court she received treatment for her injuries and a medical report was also handed over to Judge Kelly, who thanked her for coming to court.

Defence counsel Doireann McDonagh asked the judge to adjourn sentencing for a probation report on the teen to be drafted and to go through the victim impact statement with her client who remains on bail.

Ms McDonagh said the accused had matured greatly since the incident and got on a training course.

Judge Kelly agreed to seek a pre-sentence report and directed that it explore the defendant’s suitability for a community service sanction.