Teenager 'bottled' woman in County Derry night club

A Maghera teenager who knocked a woman unconscious with a bottle in a County Derry night club has been hit with a suspended sentence.

18-year-old Chloe McKenna, from Hawthorne Road, Maghera, entered a guilty plea to charges of disorderly behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Magherafelt Magistrates Court.

The court heard how police had been called to Secrets night club, Magherafelt, at around 10.10pm on the night of December 19 2020, where the security manager told them he had ejected a female.

The manager told police she had 'bottled' another female over the head while inside, knocking her unconscious in the process.

The injured party had then been taken to A&E, where she was forced to remain overnight and had surgical glue applied to a wound.

When being arrested, the defendant became irate and police reports from the night in question revealed she shouted “F**k you, f**k your ma and f**k your da” at police and members of the public.

She also yelled repeatedly that she 'did not hit anybody'. Later, on viewing CCTV footage of the incident, a guilty plea was entered by the defendant.

Judge Mullan noted that the contents of a pre-sentence report completed on McKenna did not endear her to the court.

While discussing the injuries to the other female, the report noted the defendant as saying: “She got hair extensions a few days later.”

Defence for McKenna said the incident had arisen due to a 'school-type hostility' between the women.

Although noting the defendant had no previous record, they conceded that due to the amount of alcohol taken, the defendant had 'made her debut in a most spectacular way'.

Counsel also noted that at the time of the offence, McKenna had been just 17 years old, and had been initially charged in a youth court but turned 18 in the meantime.

They said the incident should be viewed in the context that the defendant was a youth who was intoxicated on licensed premises and that the behaviour was consistent with that context.

McKenna had indicated she was unable to complete community service or probation, and Judge Mullan told the court this had limited the options available to her.

She sentenced the defendant to four months' imprisonment, suspended for a period of 12 months, and issued a three-year restraining order prohibiting her from contacting the injured party.

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