An alleged victim of an assault may be requested to present her evidence and victim impact statement from her native Brazil, as a judge expressed concern over ascertaining the true nature of any alleged injuries solely from photographs presented in court.
Judge James Faughnan was presented with photographic evidence of the alleged injuries sustained when a Brazilian man living in Portumna was brought before him from prison to attend Ballinasloe District Court.
He is charged with assault causing harm to a young woman he had been in a relationship with, and assaulting or threatening to assault a Garda under Section 19 of the Public Order Act.
Judge Faughnan, when viewing the photographs of the injuries, said he would need to have a medical report as he couldn’t tell from the photographs whether the victim had needed stitches as a result of her injuries.
However, Garda Sgt Christy Brown flagged that there could be a difficulty in obtaining a medical report as the alleged victim had returned to her home country of Brazil. They may be able to arrange for her to give evidence via video-link, but he wasn’t sure about the medical report.
He added that the defendant will face another charge at the next sitting of the court, but this will be dealt with via video-link from prison as the defendant remains in custody.
Judge Faughnan said the matters before him would have to be put back at any rate, as he needed to know if there were stitches needed when the alleged victim was being treated.
