A terrified young man was forced to leave his job in a restaurant after developing a fear of knives after having his face "sliced" in an unprovoked attack.
James Gorman was chatting with John McGinley outside a fast-food outlet in Co Donegal when McGinley suddenly produced a knife and slashed his face.
McGinley (18) appeared before Letterkenny Circuit Court where he was jailed for two and a half years for the attack.
Garda Gary Farren told the court he was in Letterkenny University Hospital investigating a separate matter when he observed Mr Gorman with a gash on his face.
Mr Gorman, who was 19 at the time, said he was outside Subway on Main Street, Letterkenny when he was approached by McGinley, who produced a knife and sliced his face. Mr Gorman said he could feel the cut and was afraid McGinley was going to cut him again.
After the incident, McGinley sent Mr Gorman messages on Snapchat.
A medical report explained that Mr Gorman suffered multiple lacerations to his neck and face. He was given a tetanus injection before being discharged from hospital.
'Beef'
CCTV footage from April 10th, 2022, showed McGinley walking towards Subway and making contact with Mr Gorman’s face with an object.
McGinley was arrested on April 11th, 2022, and admitted pulling a knife out and "running it down the side" of Mr Gorman’s face. After the incident, McGinley told Gardaí he "left town and went to bed".
McGinley said he had a "beef" with Mr Gorman in relation to "something to do with one of James Gorman’s friends".
In a victim impact statement, Mr Gorman said the attack left him "terrified to leave the house". He said he was now scared of bumping into McGinley or his associates.
He added he has constant nightmares and flashbacks of getting sliced.
“It is absolutely no way to live,” Mr Gorman said.
The victim was working in a kitchen at the time of the incident but has since suffered such a severe fear of knives that he had to quit the job.
He said: "Seeing knives everywhere was too much. I panic at the sight of knives. I became afraid that people wouldn’t understand and I became very depressed and anxious.
"It is not fair to put people through this, where I can’t enjoy a simple night out and am always looking over the shoulder."
Mr Gorman said his scars are a "constant reminder" of an incident that has left him traumatised. Judge Aylmer asked to see Mr Gorman’s visible scars.
Poor attitude
Barrister for McGinley, Peter Nolan, said his client was 17 at the time of the attack and the knife used had been brought out by another party.
Mr Nolan said his client suffered from drug and alcohol misuse since he was 12 and has "criminal associates".
Mr Nolan said there are concerns over a number of outstanding offences, but his client has no previous convictions.
McGinley, his barrister said, has a "limited insight into victim impact".
“He has a poor attitude to the authorities,” Mr Nolan said, adding: "There was a lack of regard and remorse to the victim."
Mr Nolan said McGinley has since apologised and has a "reasonable" work record, most recently being employed in a car valeting company.
Mr Nolan asked the court to be as lenient as possible as McGinley is a "young man with his full life ahead of him".
Judge Aylmer said the incident is on the upper end of such offending as it involved the premeditated use of a knife that was "very purposefully run down the face in a manner designed to cause significant scarring injury".
Judge Aylmer said the starting point for sentencing, before consideration of mitigation, was four and a half years in prison.
"He did express remorse at the outset, but unfortunately it appears that he has limited victim empathy," Judge Aylmer said.
"Unfortunately, he had to hear a graphic victim impact statement before having insight."
Judge Aylmer said McGinley has no previous convictions and was cooperative to a significant extent, followed by the tendering of an early guilty plea.
Judge Aylmer reduced the sentence to three-and-a-half years' imprisonment, but said there is "clearly a great need for rehabilitation".
Having regard to McGinley’s age and the absence of previous convictions, Judge Aylmer reduced the final 12 months of the sentence on the accused entering into a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a period of 24 months after his release from prison.
During that 24 months, he will be under the supervision of the Probation Service and was ordered to abstain completely from unprescribed drugs and alcohol.
McGinley became tearful as Judge Aylmer passed judgement and he was comforted by his father before being led away by prison officers.
Stephen Maguire
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