Two former gardaí have been given prison sentences following an assault on a man in Waterford in 2010.

They were convicted in connection with an assault on 38-year-old Anthony Holness in the early hours of 29 January 2010.

In August this year, three gardaí were found guilty. One garda was acquitted.

Garda Daniel Hickey was found guilty of assault causing harm, Sergeant Martha McEnery was found guilty of assault and Garda John Burke was found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice by turning a CCTV camera away from the scene a number of times during the assault.

Today, Hickey was given a three-year sentence with 18 months suspended for assault causing harm to Mr Holness.

Burke was given a two-year sentence with 12 months suspended for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The court heard that Hickey and Burke are now no longer gardaí.



Sergeant McEnery was given a four-month suspended sentence.

Sentencing was handed down by Judge Leonie Reynolds at Waterford Circuit Court this afternoon.

Judge Reynolds spoke of the sheer ferocity that Mr Holness was subjected to on the night in question, and of the sinister and disturbing dimension added to the case by Burke.

She said that what Hickey had done was an act of thuggery and blatant criminality.

