Man found not guilty of unprovoked assaults by reason of insanity is committed to Central Mental Hospital

A man from Longford has been committed to the Central Mental Hospital following a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. David Egan, aged 35, faced charges of assault causing harm to two women in separate incidents in Dublin city centre on 14 April 2015. The court heard that Mr Egan has paranoid schizophrenia and was not taking prescribed medication at the time of the alleged assaults. He believed he was being hypnotised and sexually assaulted, and that the women were mocking him. A jury returned the special verdict under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 after hearing from consultant forensic psychiatrists for both the prosecution and defence, who agreed Mr Egan did not understand the wrongfulness of his actions and was unable to control his conduct. Judge Martin Nolan ordered his detention at the Central Mental Hospital, where his treatment will be assessed and managed. The judge noted that release would be determined by the hospital's practitioners when appropriate.