A young Donegal man has been jailed for five years in the United States for a ‘one- punch assault’ that left a father-of-three with irreparable brain damage in Boston two years ago.
Ryan McEleney-Lynch (25), who’s from the Clonmany area, was found guilty by a jury of 12 in a Suffolk County courtroom in Massachusetts last Tuesday.
On Friday, he was sentenced by a judge to the maximum term of four years and 364 days in state prison for the aggravated assault and battery charge.
McEleney-Lynch, with an address at Quincy, Massachusetts, works in construction and has been
living in the Boston area for approximately the past five years.
The court heard how Ciaran Moore was left with a life-threatening brain injury and is now confined to a wheelchair after being punched by McEleney-Lynch just after Christmas two years ago. Mr Moore (43) is originally from County Laois but has been living in the United States for more than two decades.
A spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office outlined details of the incident for the ‘Inishowen Independent’.
They explained that on December 27, 2021, Boston Police responded to the Old Dorchester Post for an assault and battery at about 2.15am.
The police located the victim inside the bar, bleeding from the nose.
An investigation showed that Mr Moore had been out with his wife and friends at the ‘Bunker Pub’ at the Old Dorchester Post.
As the victim began to walk toward the bathroom, McEleney-Lynch punched him once in the face, knocking him unconscious and ultimately causing a life-threatening brain injury.
The victim was in intensive care for more than two months following uncontrolled bleeding in his brain and he continues to require round-the-clock care.
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