A woman who attacked a Chinese national twice in the one night has avoided jail at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court because she is the mother of a 10-week-old girl.
Judge Michael White gave Caroline Delamere (20), Liberty House, Railway Street, Dublin, a three-year suspended sentence after he called her actions on the night "savage" and "an appalling crime".
"The only reason I am not sending you immediately to prison is because of your baby daughter and I don't want her life ruined too," he told Delamere.
He suspended the sentence on condition that Delamere keep the peace and be of good behaviour for three years and that she co-operate with the probation service for two years.
Delamere pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Qi Chen in Dublin city centre on October 26th, 2004.
Sgt Niall Murphy told Mr Seán Guerin, prosecuting, that Ms Chen was on her way home from work when, as she passed a group of young people, Delamere shouted "what's your problem" before she pushed her, kicked her and punched her.
She then pulled Ms Chen's hair and brought her to the ground where she kicked her in the face and head as her victim tried to protect her head with her hands.
During the assault, another man, unconnected with Delamere, stole Ms Chen's phone. The attack on Ms Chen finished shortly after that and she ran after the thief to try and retrieve her phone. She followed him to a laneway which was blocked by a 3.7m (12ft) wall but he managed to scale it and fled the scene.
Sgt Murphy said as Ms Chen turned to leave she was again met by Delamere who pulled her hair and brought her to the ground but other people arrived, and Ms Chen was able to make her escape in a taxi which she took her to the nearest Garda station.
That same night she pointed out Delamere to gardaí after she spotted her sitting on a wall with two men. Delamere had 16 previous convictions, the majority of which were for common assault.
Sgt Murphy said Ms Chen now gets a taxi home from work because she was too nervous to walk. She attended a psychiatrist and a counsellor for post-traumatic stress.
He agreed with Martina Baxter BL, defending, that Delamere has expressed genuine remorse and apologised to the victim. He accepted it was "blind drunkenness" and not a racial motive that caused her to attack Ms Chen that night.
Sgt Murphy accepted that the birth of Delamere's baby girl has had a profound effect on her behaviour and that she was now drugs and alcohol free and leads a quieter life.
Ms Baxter said her client was extremely regretful of the attack on Ms Chen and she couldn't remember anything of the night because she had taken a bottle of vodka with some "tablets".