A father-of-three has been found guilty of assaulting another man as he visited his new-born son in hospital.
Sean Gallagher appeared before Falcarragh District Court, charged with two counts of assaulting Michael Browne on August 9 2014, one inside Letterkenny Hospital and one outside.
Gallagher was at Letterkenny Hospital on the date in question visiting his new-born son.
Garda Inspector Doyle said Mr Browne alleged Gallagher had accused him of having a child with his sister and claimed he had neglected the child.
Asked if he knew Mr Browne, Gallagher said: “I may have known him when he lived in Gweedore. I wouldn’t have recognised him. When I knew him he had long hair.
“Surely if I assaulted him in the hospital, it would have been on camera. I saw the video and I don’t see any evidence.”
Gallagher, of Fairgreen, Letterkenny, said that he ‘probably was’ in the hospital on the day in question as his son had been born on August 6.
“The last time I saw the video was in 2014. At the time I recall saying it wasn’t me. I haven’t seen it in two years. It was a pretty grainy picture.”
Judge Paul Kelly viewed the CCTV from the hospital and gave Mr Gallagher an opportunity to do so.
Mr Gallagher said he didn’t recognise anyone in the footage and that he hadn’t seen Mr Browne in 14 years. He said that he had no relationship with Browne.
“He knew my sister. His friend was my sister’s boyfriend,” Gallagher told the court.
Inspector Doyle said that Browne alleged that Gallagher accused him of having a child with Gallagher’s sister and claimed he had neglected the child.
Mr Gallagher denied causing assault to Mr Browne on the day.
Judge Kelly said “There is no doubt in my mind that the defendant is in the Donegal top in the video. He has been identified by Mr Browne.
In the video, we see Mr Browne walking the corridor in discussion with the defendant.
“The body language is that Mr Browne is trying not to engage closely. The defendant is talking and gesticulating and Mr Browne is wiping blood from his face.”
Solicitor Patsy Gallagher said his client was a married father-of-three and a mature student who was nearing completion of a course and who had been in receipt of ‘assistance from professionals’.
Mr Gallagher, who has 18 previous convictions, was found guilty and will be sentenced in May.
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