Father and son in Offaly 'racist assumptions' assault fined

A FATHER and son who were accused by a judge of making racist assumptions and then assaulting a man have been fined €750 each.

Dawid Ostasz (23), Derrybeg, Edenderry and his father Wojiech Ostasz (45), Cloncannon, Edenderry, pleaded guilty at Tullamore District Court earlier this year to charges arising from an altercation at Georges Bridge, Drumcooley, Edenderry on June 2 last year.

Both admitted assaulting Mark McDonagh, causing him harm, and Wojiech Ostasz pleaded guilty to producing an axe in the course of a dispute.

A charge against Dawid Ostasz of causing fear in Mark McDonagh by producing a large stick covered in black tape was withdrawn by the prosecution.

Sentencing had been adjourned for the father and son to pay €1,500 each in compensation and Judge Andrew Cody also wished to hear about the impact on the victim.

Yesterday Sergeant Brendan Kearns told the court the victim had a scar and a previous court sitting had heard he required staples to his head after being assaulted.

Asking Judge Cody to be lenient when imposing penalties, defending solicitor Marc Bairead said Dawid Ostasz was working full-time and had no previous convictions.

He had never previously come to the attention of the gardai and had not come to attention since.

Mr Bairead reminded the court that €1,500 in compensation had been paid by Dawid Ostasz who himself had sustained an injury as a result of the incident when he was hit by a hammer in the hand.

“He's never been in trouble before and hopefully will never be in trouble again,” said the solicitor.

In relation to Wojiech Ostasz, Mr Bairead said he had entered an early plea of guilty like his son. He was not working and instead was on a disability allowance because of a workplace accident.

A man with no previous convictions, he too had received a hammer blow to the face in the incident which was a one-off.

It had not been easy for him to pay the €1,500 compensation. “He's very sorry for his involvement in this incident, he's learned a valuable lesson,” said Mr Bairead.

Judge Cody imposed the €750 fines on the men and gave them six months to pay. No extra penalty was imposed on Wojiech Ostasz for producing an axe because that offence was taken into consideration.

Details of the incident were set out before Judge Cody in February. Sergeant Justine Reilly said the prosecutions arose after gardai received a report about a number of males fighting at a location in Edenderry and they recovered a large stick and other items.

The allegation was that Mark McDonagh received a cut to the top of his head which required his attendance at a hospital accident and emergency department and he received stitching and stables.

Mr Bairead told the court the “back story” where Mr McDonagh arrived at the defendants' property to pick up a truck.

While he was there he began making enquiries about a car he thought the accused men had for sale. That was not the case at all, said Mr Bairead, and one of his clients asked the other man to leave the property immediately and subsequently called the gardai.

They decided to get into a car and follow Mr McDonagh in his pick-up truck and the altercation occurred when they caught up with him.

Both sides involved in the dispute sustained injuries said the solicitor, and his clients said a baseball bat with tape wrapped around it was produced by Mr McDonagh.

They accepted that their pursuit of the man was ill advised and they should not have done it and they were sorry for doing so.

However, they had been suspicious and there had been a history of items being missing from their property.

They had decided to apprehend Mr McDonagh and they called the gardai for assistance.

Mr Bairead said one of his clients sustained bruises and injuries to his hand and these injuries were caused by a hammer.

Wojiech Ostasz received a broken nose from the hammer, along with bruises and an ankle injury and had to attend at Mullingar Hospital.

The solicitor said both men were very sorry. A melee had broken out and he told the judge they had both brought €500 to court as compensation.

Judge Cody remarked that a man had been hit with a baseball bat and the two accused were “a bit short” with €500.

Mr Bairead said Wojiech Ostasz was a man who did not earn much and had three children, two of whom were still dependent. An axe was not used during the incident, the assaults were not premeditated or planned and it was an incident that just got out of hand.

Judge Cody said the father and son had made racist assumptions and decided to pursue the victim.

The judge said there were “racist overtones” in the assault and an assumption had been made that Mr McDonagh “was there to rob” and the father and son then decided to chase him.