Off-duty bouncer "no longer the same man" after violent hotel assault
A Polish national who attacked the victim near his workplace while he was off-duty on Christmas Eve five years ago was sentenced to three years in prison for the attack.
A sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court heard that the victim had suffered serious facial injuries after being struck in the head with a bottle on Main Street, Arklow on December 24, 2019.
Mateusz Gorecki (31), of Ferrybank, Arklow, Co Wicklow pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Paul Lee, contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
The unemployed male, who has been living in Ireland for 14 years, also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of production of an article capable of inflicting serious injury on the same date.
Garda Emmet Furlong gave evidence that the injured man was sitting in his car outside the Royal Hotel on Main Street, Arklow at around 10pm on Christmas Eve five years ago to collect his partner from work.
Garda Furlong said Mr Lee saw Gorecki and another male, with whom he had interactions in the past in his role as a bouncer at the hotel.
The witness said the two men had been barred from the premises by Mr Lee as a result of a previous incident.
He told the court that Mr Lee felt the two men, one of whom seemed to have a bottle in his hand, were glaring at him before they walked up and down past his vehicle on the other side of the road.
Garda Furlong told prosecution counsel, James Kelly, BL that the bouncer got out of his car to go to speak to the pair.
Video footage of the incident was played in court which showed that Gorecki attempted to hit Mr Lee before throwing a bottle at his head. The accused's companion had punched and kicked the victim between the two actions by Gorecki.
The court heard that Mr Lee was referred to three different hospitals over the Christmas holiday period for treatment for his injuries.
Garda Furlong said the victim suffered fractures to his skull, eye socket and cheekbone and required surgery to implant three plates in his face.
He told Mr Kelly that Gorecki was 'nonplussed' by what happened when arrested and claimed he had not thrown a bottle.
The witness said the accused was still of the view that the bottle had not hit Mr Lee, despite the video evidence.
The court heard that Gorecki had no previous convictions at the time of the assault on the bouncer but had subsequently been convicted of two public order offences for being intoxicated in a public place.
Cross-examined by defence counsel, Feargal Kavanagh SC, as to who was the principal protagonist in the assault, Garda Furlong said Gorecki caused the most damage but his accomplice, who received an 18-month prison sentence for his role, was 'more of a leader.'
The court heard Gorecki had been drinking at a party in his sister's house in Arklow earlier on Christmas Eve.
In a victim impact statement, which was read on his behalf by his son, Mr Lee (54) said he had been a proud, hard-working man before the attack but had been forced into early retirement by an act of unprovoked violence.
He told the court that the assault had not just caused him the normal physical agony but had devastated his life entirely.
Mr Lee said the psychological effects were 'insidious and even more profound' and he had suffered chronic and persistent damage.
The court heard he suffers from seizures and 'insufferable headaches' as well as blurred vision and post-traumatic stress disorder.
'I do not recognise myself,' said Mr Lee.
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He claimed that work provided him with structure, identity and pride but he was now 'no longer the same man' as every aspect of his life had been affected.
Mr Lee said his family had also suffered as they were looking at a person who had 'faded into someone unrecognisable.'
'The emotional toll is impossible to fully explain,' he added.
He described the assault as not a momentary injury but 'a permanent turning point in my life.'
Mr Lee urged Judge John Martin for any sentence to reflect the seriousness of Gorecki's offending which had 'taken the remaining years of my life.'
Pleading for leniency, Mr Kavanagh said Gorecki came from a relatively poor background and had suffered a lot of tragedy.
The court heard his father died when he was very young, while his mother died last year and a brother was killed in a motorcycle accident in Ireland a few years ago.
Mr Kavanagh said the defendant had also expressed remorse and shame for what he described as a 'one-off incident.'
He said Gorecki was assessed as being at a moderate risk of reoffending which he believed was linked to his difficulty in finding employment.
However, Mr Kavanagh said the accused had recently received the offer of a job at Arklow Golf Club.
The barrister said Gorecki had also reduced his alcohol intake and had not committed any other offences since 2023.
While not seeking to blame Mr Lee for what happened, Mr Kavanagh said the bouncer had stood 'toe to toe' with the accused and spoke into their faces.
Sentencing Gorecki to three and a half years in prison for the assault offence, Judge Martin suspended the final six months for a period of 12 months on condition that the accused place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service on his release from prison for two years and remain free of alcohol for that period.
The judge observed that the accused had only demonstrated partial responsibility for an offence that was 'quick and drink-fuelled' but whose effects were 'lasting and very significant.'
He said Mr Lee had suffered most horrific injuries in an attack where Gorecki had delivered 'the first and last blow.'
The judge noted that the defendant had only entered guilty pleas after a jury had been sworn in to hear his trial.
He also took into account that Gorecki had made no concrete expression of remorse or any offer to make amends.
The judge offered his best wishes to Mr Lee and expressed hope that the finalisation of the case would bring him some closure.
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