Botanic Gardens: Ex-soldier jailed for attacking women in Belfast

A former soldier who attacked three women as they were leaving a concert in Belfast has been jailed.

Michael McLoughlin, 48, from Brook Lodge in Portadown, County Armagh, admitted three charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault.

The court heard McLoughlin's actions had a significant impact on the women.

He was given a sentence of two years and five months divided equally between prison and licence.

On the evening of 27 June 2019, three friends had attended a concert in Botanic Gardens in Belfast and were exiting via Stranmillis Road.

They noticed a man sitting on a bench and, as they walked past, one of them said to him, "Wasn't the concert great?"

McLoughlin, who had become separated from his girlfriend, who he attended the concert with, was verbally abusive.

One of the women challenged him about his language and at this point he became what Belfast Crown Court Judge Stephen Fowler QC described as "highly abusive".

McLoughlin spat in the face of one of the women and then punched her to the ground, attacked a second woman then began walking towards the Malone Road.

The third woman, having witnessed her two friends being attacked, followed McLoughlin as she did not want him to evade detection.

When she caught up with him close to the Wellington Park Hotel, she was attacked and brought to the ground where the assault continued.

As one of her friends came to her assistance, she was punched in the face by McLoughlin.

Police arrived at the scene and during his arrest a highly intoxicated McLoughlin was aggressive and argumentative.

During an interview the following day, he told police that after getting split up from his partner at the concert, he was waiting at the gates for her.

He then made a series of unfounded and untrue allegations about the women and denied attacking them.

Judge Fowler said that in light of McLoughlin's subsequent pleas to five assaults, "it's quite clear he is no longer maintaining that account".

All three women attacked by McLoughlin sought medical treatment for injuries including a broken wrist, fractured finger, multiple cuts and bruises and a chipped tooth.

Addressing the injuries caused to women and the impact the violent incident has had on them, the Belfast recorder said: "All three have significant and on-going stress 30 months after this incident."

During the sentencing, it emerged that McLoughlin is an ex-soldier who also worked as a dog handler for a private security firm in Afghanistan.

Judge Fowler said that after experiencing traumatic incidents in these roles, McLoughlin has "probable untreated" Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as well as a history of depression and anxiety - but has turned down treatment for his poor mental health.

As he passed sentence, Judge Fowler spoke of several aggravating factors, including continuing an attack as one of his victims lay defenceless on the ground.

He added: "The language of the accused indicates that the assaults were motivated, at least in part, due to hostility based on gender and towards these women."