Natasha O'Brien on backlash, broken systems, and speaking her truth

Extra.ie​

4 days ago

Natasha O'Brien has hit out at the judge who handed down a suspended sentence to her attacker, noting he got 'caught in the crossfire' as she campaigned for justice.
The young woman was assaulted by former soldier Cathal Crotty on May 29, 2022 in Limerick city after she intervened when she heard him call someone a 'faggot.'
In June 2023, Judge Tom O'Donnell imposed a fully suspended three-year term on Crotty and ordered him to pay €3,000 compensation to Natasha. Natasha O'Brien has hit out at the sentencing judge who handed down a suspended sentence to her attacker, noting he got 'caught in the crossfire' as she campaigned for justice. Pic: Ayesha Ahmad
The now-retired Judge O'Donnell praised Crotty for his guilty plea, failing to acknowledge the then 20-year-old only admitted to the attack only when Gardaí confronted him with CCTV footage.
Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal overturned the fully suspended sentence, imposing a sentence of three years in prison with the final 12 month suspended.
Speaking to Extra.ie ahead of her RTÉ documentary NATASHA, the Limerick woman admitted she 'never expected' the sentence to be overturned and detailed the conflicting feelings to Crotty being jailed.
'I just remember not even knowing what was happening and having all these emotions,' she said, 'The judges were saying all these things that I only dreamed the sentencing judge last year would say. The now-retired Judge O'Donnell praised Crotty for his guilty plea, failing to acknowledge the then 20-year-old only admitted to the attack only when Gardaí confronted him with CCTV footage. Pic: Collins
'That judge that day did us both dirty. It wasn't just me impacted, he [Crotty] was impacted.'
Natasha added: 'His actions, and what he did to me was completely wrong and I didn't deserve that. I deserved justice for that.
'He never deserved to be the poster of perpetrators or the poster of violence.'
The Limerick woman clarified that her campaigning had never been about Crotty, but was about the unfair justice system she dealt with. Elsewhere, Natasha opened up on the negative comments she is subject to due to not presenting herself as 'this wounded little quiet damsel.' Pic: Ayesha Ahmad
'It was never focused on him but unfortunately he got caught up in it,' she said.
Elsewhere, Natasha opened up on the negative comments she is subject to due to not presenting herself as 'this wounded little quiet damsel.'
She explained how she had spoken to a journalist with local Limerick newspaper, Limerick Leader, not realising how big the story would become.
'I decided I have an opportunity here to not be invisible anymore and I've an opportunity here to do a lot of good and highlight a lot of problems that people don't have the energy to highlight,' she shared.
'I received so much backlash because apparently I'm not the perfect victim. Someone who is a victim of a crime isn't just a victim. They're a person. There is no one way to be a human being, just like there's no one way to being a victim.'
Speaking to Extra.ie, Natasha added that it was important to her to do the documentary to 'show there is a human behind the headlines.'
'Just because I can look confident doesn't mean I always feel confident,' she said, 'You cannot judge a book by its cover, just like you cannot judge a victim by a headline.
'Just because I was able to advocate for myself. The reality is not all victims who want to speak out get the platform.'
NATASHA airs on RTÉ One at 9.35pm.