Derry man jailed after assaulting a mother and daughter in pub toilets

Sentencing Gavin Hamilton at Antrim Crown Court and ordering the 30-year-old to serve half his sentence in jail and the remainder on licence, Judge Sandra Crawford said the incident had “devastated” the lives of the two victims and their family in general.

“This was an unprovoked attack against two victims who were vulnerable due to the location in the female toilets, where they should have felt safe,” the judge told the court.

On the day he was due to go on trial earlier this year, Hamilton, with an address at Caw Close in Derry, entered guilty pleas to two charges of causing actual bodily harm and one of sexual assault by penetration.

Opening the facts of the case today, Judge Crawford told the court it was in April 2023 when the mother and daughter had gone to the Harbour Bar in Portrush for a family meal.

Hamilton, the court heard, was in the bar on his stag do and he had “consumed an inordinate amount of alcohol,” including 45 shots of Tequila Rose.

Judge Crawford described how the mother and daughter had gone to the toilet and that CCTV had recorded Hamilton “staggering into the women’s toilets.”

Inside, he repeatedly banged on the door of the mother’s cubicle and when she opened it, Hamilton punched her several times to the head and grabbed her.

In grabbing her, the court heard, he “sexually assaulted her by putting his hand down her pants…inadvertently causing penetration to occur.”

On hearing the commotion, the victim’s daughter came out of her cubicle but Hamilton “punched her and threw her against the sink” before he walked away.

Judge Crawford said that from the footage recorded outside the toilets, there was a gap of 80 seconds between Hamilton going into the toilets, assaulting the women, and then leaving again.

The mum had to endure an examination at The Rowan Centre, the regional Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) before both women went to A&E for treatment for their head injuries, including concussion.

In her Victim Impact Statement (VIS), the mum outlined how her “life was shattered” because of Hamilton’s attack and she had been diagnosed with having symptoms consistent with PTSD.

Judge Crawford said that in addition to frequent panic attacks, “sometimes she experiences uncontrollable screaming” and is no longer able to even go out by herself.

“She describes the impact on the family as devastating,” said the judge, adding that she “specifically refers to a feeling of helplessness, watching her daughter being assaulted.”

In her VIS, the daughter reported that she continues to suffer nightmares and the assaults experienced by her and her mum have significantly impacted her family and work life.

Arrested and interviewed, Hamilton told police he had no memory of the incident and while he accepted it was him on the CCTV footage, he denied the sexual assault.

Judge Crawford said that having admitted his guilt, there was evidence in the report and defence submissions that Hamilton “is remorseful and ashamed of his actions.”

The guilty pleas and remorse were to be considered as mitigating factors, said the judge, as was Hamilton’s previously clear record.

Judge Crawford added however, there were also aggravating factors including that he was heavily intoxicated, the unprovoked nature of the attacks which were carried out on two women, and in a location where they ought to have been safe.

In addition to the 30-month sentence, the judge also imposed a three-year restraining order and told Hamilton that he will remain on the police sex offenders register for ten years.