Suspended Sentence For Trinity Lecturer Who Threw Man Over Wall

A Trinity College lecturer, who left a man with severe head injuries after throwing him over a 15ft drop, received a six year suspended sentence yesterday.

35-year-old John Whipple claimed he attacked the victim because the man had urinated on his shoes.

His victim was left with a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and facial palsy. He spent two months in hospital and was unable to close his eyes or hear for six months.

Allegedly when an onlooker asked him why he had thrown the man over the wall, Whipple replied by shrugging his shoulders.

Whipple, of Ashley Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday to causing serious harm to John Kennedy at Lower Abbey Street, Dublin, on February 11, 2011.

Judge Martin Nolan said it was unfortunate that there was a 15ft drop behind the railings. He accepted that Whipple probably did not realise how substantial the fall was but did know there was at least an 8ft drop behind the railing.

"It seems unlikely that he intended to cause the injuries he did, but if he had thought about it, he would have realised what he did would cause the victim serious injury," the judge said.

He added: "He acted in the absence of judgment but does not deserve a custodial sentence."

The judge sentenced Whipple to six years in prison, which he suspended in full on condition that he pay more than €10,000 to the victim within a week.

(H/GK)