Judge tells woman she can’t just hit people in Dunnes Stores

A woman who assaulted the wrong person has been given a suspended sentence by Thurles District Court.

Margaret Hutchinson (51) of Burnchurch Killenaule was convicted of assault at Dunnes Stores, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, on October 29, 2021.

The court heard Mrs Hutchinson approached the injured party in Dunnes Stories, roared at her to stop texting her husband and punched her in the face.

The victim told the gardaí she didn’t know who the defendant was, and CCTV confirmed the incident, the court heard.

The solicitor for the defendant told the court that the defendant had accepted she had struck the wrong person and was remorseful.

He told the court that the defendant had been receiving texts from a person and was ‘tormented’ and ‘consumed’ by them.

The solicitor said his client had written a letter of apology to the injured party.

“From the outset she has been extremely remorseful,” said the solicitor.

However, Judge Alec Gabbett said it didn’t make a difference if the defendant assaulted the wrong person.

“You can’t hit someone in Dunnes Stores because they are texting your husband,” said the Judge.

He said in passing judgement, he also needed to think of the other people in the store.

The Judge said that he was inclined to convict because there needed to be a “deterrent”

“She can’t just take it into her own hands though I appreciate she was being tormented,” said the Judge.

The judge sentenced her to two-month imprisonment suspended for 12 months.