Community service for ‘accidental’ assault

A 20-YEAR-OLD man has been given the maximum amount of community service hours after breaking a woman’s teeth and wrist in an incident outside an Omagh bar.

Before Omagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday stood Michael McNamee, of Crockatore Road, Newtownstewart, charged with assault causing actual bodily harm.

The court heard that, on March 18, 2023, police came across an large altercation involving a group of people outside a town centre bar in Omagh.

After police arrived, the group dispersed and they found a distressed female.

The woman claimed that she was pushed to the ground by the defendant, who was identified as McNamee.

Police noted she had broken her two front teeth alongside breaking her wrist and sustaining injuries to her knee.

McNamee was arrested a short time later and, at police interview, said he couldn’t remember the incident but claimed he didn’t intend to hurt the victim.

CCTV of the incident viewed by the court showed a young woman holding onto McNamee’s arms as he argued with other individuals.

In a quick and sudden movement, McNamee shoved the woman to the ground, resulting in her landing face first on the pavement. Defence counsel Steffan Rafferty told the court that there were individuals off-screen, who chased McNamee and kicked him to the ground following the incident, however noting that no charges were brought against them.

Speaking on the charge before the court, Mr Rafferty added that the incident was ‘entirely accidental’ and had left McNamee’s family ‘very upset’.

Deputy district judge Ted Magill noted the guilty plea and added that the face value facts of the case made him consider sentencing the man to 12 months imprisonment. However, after seeing the CCTV he accepted that the assault was accidental.

Instead of imposing custody, judge Magill sentenced McNamee to 240 hours of community service.