Trainer David Dunne sentenced to 15 months in prison for assault and false imprisonment of former stable hand

Trainer David Dunne has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for the assault and false imprisonment of a former stable hand three years ago at Trim Circuit Court in County Meath.

The 36-year-old father of three pleaded guilty to the offences which were committed at his yard on May 15, 2021 when the victim was aged 18.

The court heard the teenager was called to the yard that day by text and, as he was having lunch in the canteen, the defendant came, closed the door and kicked and punched him while blaming him for the disappearance of some veterinary medicine and money.

A garda told prosecuting counsel Carl Hanahoe BL there was also a dispute between the two men over a motor vehicle.

The court heard that at one stage the defendant left the room and, when he returned, he headbutted the victim. The garda said the whole incident lasted approximately four hours and part of the assault was recorded by the defendant on his mobile phone.

The court was told the victim had managed to leave the room and rang for an ambulance but then returned to the room out of fear.

The garda said the injured party had suffered a cut lip as well as multiple soft tissue injuries to his head, nose and chest, as well as bruising to his shin.

The court heard that when questioned by the Gardai the defendant initially denied striking the younger man but, when shown the footage on his own phone, admitted he had done so.

The garda added that the injured party had declined to make a victim impact statement.

Defence barrister James O'Brien BL told Judge John Martin his client had lost his temper with the victim on the day and overreacted in a very violent manner.

The barrister said the defendant was deeply remorseful and absolutely ashamed of his actions and added that a probation report had assessed him at low risk of reoffending.

Mr O'Brien added that the defendant worked extremely hard from morning till night seven days a week but had hit financial difficulties.

Judge Martin described the offence as a premeditated and sustained assault by someone who was out of control and noted the lack of any offer of compensation. Judge Martin imposed a sentence of 15 months to commence on April 22.

Dunne received a two-year suspension from training last year, arising from a high-profile integrity case that led to his fellow trainer Ronan McNally being hit with a 12-year ban. He was fined €5,000, and also had to pay a further €2,000 in costs after losing his appeal against the sanction.

Full Noise (right): landed a notable gamble for David DunneCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

He was sanctioned under the rules that cover bringing racing into disrepute, with his punishment including being ordered to repay prize-money totalling €27,000 after he was found guilty of conspiring with McNally to conceal his colleague's ownership of All Class, Full Noise and Petrol Head, who were all in his care at the time.

Dunne's training licence was revoked for two years, but with the final 18 months suspended for two years.

The original referral established that McNally had intentionally concealed his ownership of horses in Dunne's training yard and orchestrated a "manipulation of their official handicap ratings". All Class and Full Noise landed notable gambles under Dunne's name but both were found to be owned by McNally and subsequently ran in his name.