The father of murdered two-year-old toddler, Santina Cawley has today been given a ten-month suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to assaulting and causing harm to the woman who was last month convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his daughter.
37 year old Michael Cawley with an address at Leeside Apartments, Bachelors Quay, Cork, pleaded guilty earlier this month to assault causing harm to 38 year old Karen Harrington at Merchants Quay in the city.
At Cork District Court today, Sgt Pat Lyons outlined how Michael Cawley had spotted Karen Harrington boarding a bus at Merchant's Quay and went on board the bus, caught her and threw her to the ground before kicking her several times in the chest and stomach. He said the entire incident on board the bus was captured on CCTV.
After the assault Cawley went to the Bridewell Garda Station where he informed them of what he had done and made himself available to officers and co-operated fully with the investigation into the assault.
Judge Olan Kelleher rose to read the Victim Impact Statement and when he returned, he said that the purpose of a Victim Impact Statement was to detail the effect of a crime on a victim but Karen Harrington had devoted much of her statement to matters that did not concern him in this case.
He sentenced Michael Cawley to ten months in jail, but he suspended the sentence in its entirety on condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a period of two years.
