Natasha O’Brien has won praise after opening up about her brutal and unprovoked assault on RTÉ’s Prime Time on Tuesday night.
Last week, national uproar occurred after an Irish soldier who boasted about beating Natasha unconscious in an unprovoked attack in Limerick avoided jail time.
Cathal Crotty, 22, of Parkroe Heights, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, walked free from a court after getting a fully suspended sentence.
The 22-year-old serving Irish soldier initially tried to blame innocent victim, Natasha, by wrongly telling the gardai who arrested him that she instigated the attack on O’Connell Street, Limerick, on May 29, 2022.
However, after gardai showed Cathal the CCTV footage of him beating Natasha without any provocation, he admitted his guilt, Limerick Circuit Criminal Court heard.
Hours after the attack the Irish soldier boasted to his friends on Snapchat about the heinous act.
Cathal said, “Two to put her down, two to put her out”, referring to him striking Natasha four times.
Judge Tom O’Donnell wished Natasha well and asked her if she understood “the significance” of Cathal’s guilty plea.
The 22-year-old’s guilty plea eliminated the necessity for a trial which would have compounded her trauma and would have prolonged the case by approximately 18 months.
Natasha told the judge that while she understood this, she said she had already suffered the trauma of the attack, and “two long years of trauma” waiting for the criminal case to conclude.
Speaking to Miriam O’Callaghan on Prime Time on Tuesday night, Natasha said her experience in court was the source of her “true trauma”.
“I talk about how being attacked was traumatic, being a victim of a crime is not something that goes lightly or an easy experience, however, what I experienced in that courtroom last Wednesday was the true trauma. The true attack,” she confessed.
“If I had to go back and choose what I had to experience two years ago or last Wednesday, I’d go back to two years ago. It was that appalling.”
Natasha said she hopes she can help to inspire change in our judicial system by sharing her story.
“This happens all the time, I’m not the first to come forward and I won’t be the last but what I’m hoping here to do is to keep the spotlight on, to keep my foot on the gas,” she told Miriam.
“I was up in the public gallery today in the Dail watching, looking, they could see me watching… expecting answers, deserving answers.
“I think I speak for so many victims who don’t have a voice… I was beaten to within an inch of my life and I’m here to tell the tale so I’m not going to stop. It’s not in me to wish what I experienced on another human being, it’s not humane.”
Following her appearance on the show, Natasha was inundated with supportive messages on social media.
One social media user wrote: “Natasha deserves an actual, meaningful response from lawmakers and government.”
“How about the adoption of the Cathal Crotty law, which like Megan’s law here in the US, keeps his name associated with the crime perpetrated, and results in automatic five year sentences and a permanent listing on a violent crimes against women’s list. Women have the right to protect themselves against violent attacks.”
Another wrote: “I hate that you have to put yourself forward, but, I love your courage in doing so. I hate that you were attacked, and the attacker got no prison sentence, but, I love that you have used your energy to highlight the imbalance and injustices of the legal system.”
“I hate that you have been a victim, but, I love that you were stopping someone else being the victim in the first place. I hate that you are having to fight rather than getting more time to heal, but, I love that my kids see such a strong courageous woman who is changing the future to make their lives safer. Thank you so much for all you are doing and the person you are.”
