Girl guilty of slashing woman’s face with broken bottle may receive community service

Judge orders 17-year-old to enter peace bond after she admitted role in 2021 attack in Temple Bar area of Dublin

A teenage girl who slashed a woman’s face with a broken vodka bottle during a drunken row in Temple Bar, Dublin will be dealt with by way of community service if she is deemed suitable.

Judge Martin Nolan ordered the 17-year-old to enter into a peace bond between now and July, when he said he will sentence her to community service if the Probation Service agrees she is eligible.

The Dublin girl, who cannot be named because she is a minor, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of assault causing harm to a woman at Temple Bar on August 11th, 2021.

The girl was 16 when she and her friends got into a row with a group of young adults who were socialising in town, Garda Robert Kennedy told the court. The girl and her friend approached the group looking for a cigarette, and when this request was declined, an altercation started.

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At one point, a young man in the group pushed the girl away and she fell on the road, breaking a bottle of vodka. She then took the broken bottle and slashed one of the young women to the face, causing a two-inch cut.

Gardaí who were called to the area found the girl in an intoxicated state and she was brought to a garda station to be picked up by a responsible adult. She was charged with assault at a later date.

The victim in the case required stitches to her face, but the scar is fading, Garda Kennedy told the court. She did not wish to make a victim impact statement.

A Probation Service report which was handed into court found the girl would benefit from therapy or counselling. The court heard the girl never knew her father and was a quiet child who got involved with a “bad crowd”. Her mother was in court to support her.

Judge Nolan indicated that he would deal with the case by way of community service, once the girl continues to behave over the coming months. He adjourned the matter to July 3rd when he said he would finalise the case.