Instead of going to jail, a farmer who was found guilty of attacking former TD Anne Rabbitte by hurling a bag of cow manure at her has been sentenced to community service, reports The Mirror.
At a public gathering at Gort in January 2023, Joseph Baldwin of Ballyaneen, Gort, Co. Galway, was found guilty of assault and breach of public order for using abusive and threatening language.
Mr. Baldwin threw a tiny bag of cow manure at Ms. Rabbitte, a former Galway East TD and junior minister, but it missed her, according to video evidence displayed during the case’s hearing last October, reports The Mirror.
Mr. Baldwin said that he attended to the meeting to express his disappointment and rage about a variety of local problems in Gort, including plans to build a biomass plant there, and that he never meant to hurt anyone.
The matter was rescheduled for sentence today, and Judge Alec Gabbitt stated that he believed Mr Baldwin was eligible for a community service order after reviewing a probation report and multiple testimonies from a local general practitioner and chemist in Gort, reports The Mirror.
He was at little risk of reoffending, the court heard, and he had cooperated completely with the probation department.
Judge Gabbit affirmed a 60-hour community service order for Mr. Baldwin in lieu of a three-month jail term, saying he was struck by how community-minded he was.
The offence of public order was taken into account, reports The Mirror.
But the court said he had to keep in mind that the video evidence did not lie, that this kind of attitude was intolerable, that public officials should not put up with it, and that it simply could not occur again.
In the event that the judge’s ruling was challenged, recognitions were set, reports The Mirror.
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