A teenager has pleaded guilty to assaut causing serious harm to a Longford father.
The 17-year-old pleaded guilty to the assault which occurred in Mullingar before Christmas.
The 17-year-old male appeared at a sitting of Mullingar Circuit Court this morning, where Senior Counsellor Desmond Dockery said he was pleading guilty on the basis that the injuries caused to the victim were inflicted 'recklessly' and not intentionally.
The assault took place on December 14th at approximately 1am on Grove Street, Mullingar.
The injured man in his 30s was discovered with serious injuries and removed by ambulance shortly after to Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar.
At a bail hearing before the District Court in December, Detective Garda Brendan Hogan said the injured party was out socialising with colleagues on the night when he came upon a group of local youths, and an altercation ensued.
CCTV footage shows the males meeting in the street, before the victim, the accused and a third individual go off-screen for a period of eight seconds, during which the assault took place.
The teen presented himself at Mullingar Garda Station and made a voluntary caution statement on the afternoon of December 14th.
Another 17-year-old male who was questioned identified the accused on CCTV footage and gave Gardaí an account of what had happened, stating that the accused had punched the man.
A large number of phones was seized during the course of the investigation and messages were recovered, including two voice notes sent via Snapchat.
The accused teen was granted bail by Judge Bernadette Owens, who said "detention is a last resort" for a juvenile.
Bail conditions imposed included a €500 independent surety from the teen's mother, and that he surrender his passport and not apply for a duplicate.
He was also to abide by a curfew from 7pm to 6am, remain intoxicant-free and sign on at Mullingar Garda Station every Wednesday and Saturday.
On behalf of the accused, Senior Counsellor Desmond Dockery requested a probation report and stated that the next sittings of Mullingar Circuit Court would not take place until the end of November - after his client's 18th birthday.
Judge Kenneth Connolly agreed to list the case for October 30 in Portlaoise, and directed the probation report to include a suitability assessment for community service and for the Restorative Justice Programme.
A victim impact statement is also to be prepared by the victim's family for that date.
