Five men who pleaded guilty to subjecting a homeless woman to a “prolonged assault” have appeared before the Circuit Criminal Court today.
They are Sean Conroy (20), with an address at Silloge Road, Ballymun, Dublin 11; Mark McMahon (54), with an address at Henrietta House, Bolton Street, Dublin 7; Mark Keogh (33), with an address at Henrietta House, Bolton Street, Dublin 7; Kian Walsh (21), with an address at Constitution Hill, Dublin 7; and Braxton Rice (21) of Henrietta House Dublin 7.
The assault took place at Henrietta House, Henrietta Place, Dublin 7 where Gardaí came across a “chaotic” scene in which the victim, who is 37-years-old, had been subjected to “torture” involving a number of implements including a makeshift torch, a hammer, metal poles, and scissors.
In her victim impact statement (below), the woman said, “I can’t forget the smell of my skin burning,” she said, adding that “the smell of my own body burning” is something she cannot get out of her head.
The apartment in which the assault took place was described as being not fit for a dog to live in because of its condition.
The incident took place after the victim was accused of stealing a substantial amount of unprocessed crack cocaine from an address at The Maltings.
All five men pleaded guilty to identical charges of false imprisonment, and assault causing harm contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act with possession of articles contrary to the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act to be taken into consideration.
During the course of the assault, during which 8 males were present at the address, the victim suffered broken bones, punctured lungs, stab wounds, burns, lacerations, as well as having hair removed from her head.
A 6th male, who is to stand trial, and a teenage boy – who is being dealt with by the juvenile courts – were also charged in relation to the incident.
Detective Garda Peter Guyett gave evidence of how Gardaí had entered the premises after obtaining a search warrant in respect of drugs. Upon entering the one bedroom apartment they encountered the victim who was “visibly very injured” and was sitting on the floor which was stained with her own blood.
Before Gardaí entered the premises the victim was told to make out that she had been assaulted in a laneway and had been taken to the apartment in order for those present to “look after her and comfort her”.
Two drink bottles filled with petrol were also found on the scene with the court hearing that the woman had been asked to set fire to a nearby Gala branch. She had also been asked to drink ammonia – used to cut drugs – which she refused to do, and was not forced.
The victim described how Mark McMahon, the occupant of the address where the assault took place, held a hatchet to her face and hit her in the head with a metal pole. He has 27 previous convictions.
His son, Mark Keogh, who has 124 previous convictions, hit the victim with a metal pole, while Braxton Rice, who has 12 previous convictions, hit her in the head and body with a metal pole going “crazy”, before taking a hammer, heating it on an oven hob, before using it to burn the skin on her legs “over and over”.
The vehicle of Kian Walsh, an Audi A3, was used to transport the victim to the location of the assault. He has one previous conviction.
The court heard that all 5 men were on bail in respect of various matters at the time of the commission of the offence.
Victim Impact Statement
The victim said the assault has “affected my life in so many different ways” and how she believes that if the Gardaí hadn’t arrived she would have been killed.
“I had stab wounds all over me,” she said.
She described having to have 2 discs removed and having her spine shaved because of what was done to her. In respect of her elbow fracture she said, “My bones were sticking out”, and that she had “severe burns” on her legs where the heated hammer was placed again and again.
“I can’t forget the smell of my skin burning,” she said, adding that “the smell of my own body burning” is something she cannot get out of her head.
“Both of my legs were burned by these animals,” she said, recalling her “fractured skull”, eye socket, and cheek bone, saying “I can’t feel the right side of my face.”
She said she was “sure” she was “going to be killed”.
The victim described being “one woman” in a room with eight men,“the feeling of complete helplessness”, and how “the more they went at me the more I was raising my left leg” in an attempt to shield herself from the continued blows.
“I don’t know how I didn’t pass out from the pain I was in,” she said.
She said that what she was subjected to robbed her of her “identity”, her “self worth” and her “trust”.
Describing her attackers as “animals”, she said, “no matter what I said” they “wouldn’t believe” that she did not take the missing drugs.
“If I see a young fella, I get afraid,” she said, adding that she can’t go for a walk as she is afraid that people are “watching” her.
“I’m constantly looking over my shoulder,” and “don’t recognise the woman I have become,” she said.
The woman described having only a “small sense of safety in darkness” and that she is afraid during the day, and “can never return to the city centre.”
Threats made against her mother and teenage daughter.
“They threatened they were going to get a monkey to rape me, referring to a black man,” the victim impact statement, which was read by Detective Gyatt, continued.
They said they would “get my daughter out of school and rape her,” she said, adding that this was “destroying her” during the ordeal as her daughter is “my little girl”.
She described how her mother’s address was “tortured” out of her, and how she now stays away from her family in hopes that this will keep trouble away from them.
She described being in hospital for almost 5 weeks and having to have several surgeries.
Speaking of the lasting physical effects of her ordeal, she said, “I urinate myself when I sleep sometimes.”
She is waiting to see a psychologist, but has “no date” as yet.
The woman said she has “chronic pain” in her back and elbow, and “all over her body”, and “constant headaches”.
She said the time she was in the apartment was “the longest three hrs of my life” and that she felt “utterly powerless” as “one girl in a room with eight fellas”, and how she “bursts into tears” when she thinks of it.
“What happened to me is something I will never forget,” she said, adding, “I will never forgive these sick human beings.”
She “never knew humanity was so cruel”.
Judge Pauling Codd thanked the victim for her courage in coming to court, saying she had suffered “unimaginable trauma”.
The case was adjourned until next Wednesday at 11am when the defence arguments will be heard.