Pregnant assailant 'lucky' to avoid prison sentence at Kildare court

“You'd expect that behaviour from a pack of hyenas, not a lady,” said a judge to a heavily pregnant defendant convicted of assault causing harm on a couple, who narrowly avoided a jail sentence.

Before Judge Desmond Zaidan at Athy District Court was Katie Doyle (22), with an address at Palmerstown Woods, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, who was charged with the assault in a taxi at Edmund Rice Square, Athy on 27 March 2022.

“Ms Doyle thought the injured party had jumped the queue,” explained Sergeant Dave Hanrahan.

“Mr Doyle jumped into the taxi and assaulted another man,” he said.

“She used her nails to scrape the man’s face and leave marks … the female injured party doesn’t want to give a victim impact statement,” he clarified.

The court then heard from her barrister that Ms Doyle had a two-year-old at home, was currently seven months’ pregnant with her second and had previously worked in a solicitor’s office in Dublin.

“She is very embarrassed by all this,” he said.

“She chose to drink herself silly and then to assault an innocent man, so being seven months’ pregnant doesn’t matter. It was a joint enterprise, all in it together. On the Section 3 assault, the co-accused might be refused jurisdiction,” said the judge, indicating that her husband could be sent for trial in the circuit court.

“We only have (DPP’s) direction on Ms Doyle,” said the sergeant.

He handed a photo of the injuries to the judge, and revealed that a pair of spectacles were broken in the attack, for which her barrister had €250 in court for recompense.

“My client has no previous and would hope to avoid a conviction,” said her barrister.

“She’s lucky to avoid prison. I won’t send her to jail, but it was a very close shave,” he added, before fining Ms Doyle €1,000.

“Count yourself lucky,” he concluded.