Derry man's 'moment of madness' had 'serious and devastating consequences'

Diarmuid Hutton (49) of Caw Hill Park in Derry admitted one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man on November 30, 2024.

The sentencing took place at the Magistrate’s Court in Derry on Friday.

During the hearing, a prosecutor told the court that the assault had had 'serious and devastating consequences' for the injured party in the case.

He said that the victim was left with 'a permanent disability as a result of spinal injuries'.

Defence counsel for Hutton, Stephen Mooney told the court that the case involved 'a decent human being committing a terrible act in a moment of madness'.

The barrister said that the defendant had shown 'genuine abject remorse'.

Referring to the circumstances of the case, Mr Mooney said that no one was doing anything wrong in the situation and that the defendant had 'misconstrued' what was happening.

Judge Roseanne McCormick KC said that the victim's wife was 'very inebriated' and the man and his son assisted by others were trying to get her into a car.

When the defendant approached the son told him the woman was his mother but Hutton asked how would he know that. Words were exchanged and the defendant struck the injured party once.

The court heard that the injuries were caused 'by the punch and the fall' with the injured party suffering fractures to his vertebrae.

Judge McCormick said that at the time if the incident there had been 'concern in the local community' over several sexual assaults and the defendant had seen men trying to get a woman into a car.

The judge added that the punch had resulted in 'catastrophic consequences for his victim' and said Hutton's culpability was 'moderate but the harm was very high'.

She imposed a sentence of two years in prison but suspended it for three years as she said this was 'an exceptional case'.