A 24-YEAR-OLD man who assaulted a mother and her daughter but later claimed that he acted in self-defence has been warned to stay out of trouble for the next six months or face jail.

Ryan Mark Masterson, of Derrin Road, Enniskillen, pleaded guilty to assaulting the younger woman, occasioning her actual bodily harm, unlawfully assaulting her mother and using disorderly behaviour at Sycamore Drive, Enniskillen on September 24, 2017.

In connection with a separate matter, he also pleaded guilty to charges of resisting arrest and possessing a Class B controlled drug, namely cannabis, on January 20, 2017.

Masterson appeared before Fermanagh Magistrates Court yesterday (Wednesday) morning for sentencing.

The court heard that, at 11.30pm on September 24, police were initially contacted by the older woman, who alleged she was being threatened by the defendant.

She then made a further call, this time claiming that Ryan Masterson was attacking both her and her daughter.

Upon attending the scene at Sycamore Drive, officers observed the defendant shouting and roaring: “They’re out to get me.”

The police observed bruising and scratches to the younger woman’s face. She claimed that the defendant had punched her and possibly kicked her.

The women attended the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department for treatment.

The younger victim required stitches to her hand and had sustained a suspected broken nose, the court heard.

After statements were recorded, the defendant was arrested and conveyed to Enniskillen custody suite.

During interview, Masterson alleged that he had been walking to his friend’s house when he was “set upon” by the younger woman and a third female.

He denied the allegations made against him, the court heard.

In connection with the offences on January 20, the court heard that police were called to a block of flats at Cornagrade.

The defendant was among a group of males in the communal area.

He subsequently became “very irate” and had to be restrained by officers.

After Masterson was conveyed into custody, he was found to be in possession of a small amount of suspected herbal cannabis.

Defending counsel, Gavyn Cairns, told the court that his client had been examined by the police’s Force Medical Officer and had sustained “significantly more” than any of the injuries sustained by the complainants.

The barrister said that the injuries to his upper limbs were assessed as being “consistent” with defending himself.

However, Mr. Cairns said that, by virtue of his guilty pleas, Masterson accepted that he exceeded the parameters of what is lawful in acting in self-defence.

The barrister told the court that his client’s main difficulty was that he had assaulted the two women soon after a suspended sentence had been imposed on him.

Describing the defendant as a “very troubled young man”, Mr. Cairns said that he was also dealing with the recent death of his older brother at Christmas.

In mitigation, the barrister said that the most serious injury sustained by the complainants had been a wound to a finger that was a centimetre in length.

When he described the injuries as being at the “lower end”, deputy district judge Peter Prenter observed that she had also sustained an abrasion on her forehead and cuts to her nose.

The judge told the court that the defendant faced a “very serious” set of offences, aggravated by his previous record.

Mr. Prenter said that Masterson had 10 previous convictions for assaulting police, as well as a further seven common assaults.

He observed that the defendant’s latest assaults had been committed 11 days after receiving a suspended sentence.

The judge described the Probation Service’s assessment of him as posing a high likelihood of re-offending as “spot-on”.

Mr. Prenter said that the defendant’s troubled past didn’t explain why he had such a violent nature.

He told the court that he had been going to send him to prison for a total of 11 months, but the only thing saving him was his current engagement with Probation and other services that had been made available to him.

Deferring sentencing in the case for six months, the judge directed Masterson to continue to work with the various services and also to stay out of trouble.

“You’re very, very lucky. You’ve no idea how close you were to getting 11 months,” Mr. Prenter said.

“Thank you, sir,” the defendant replied.