A WEST Belfast woman has been told she is "extremely lucky'' not to be going to jail over her involvement in an internment bonfire riot.
Rebecca Curley (21), of Burnaby Court was given 80 hours community service and a two year probation order.
Curley appeared at Belfast Crown Court today via video link from her solicitor's office after pleading guilty to a single count of rioting.
It was the prosecution case that on August 8, 2020, rioting broke out in the Falls Road area after police were deployed to protect contractors tasked to remove material from a bonfire marking interment.
While police tried to calm the situation, some members of the crowd tried to light the bonfire, but officers managed to secure the material and the contractors moved in and tried to remove items.
As the clean-up operation by the contractors from Belfast City Council was in its final stages, rioting broke out and police came under "sustained attack for around 25 minutes''.
The court heard between 30-40 people were involved, including Curley.
A total of 29 police officers were injured "but fortunately without any lasting effects'', said Judge Donna McColgan.
After police issued CCTV footage of the rioters, Curley voluntarily came forward and identified herself.
The defendant was captured throwing a number of items at police dressed in riot gear, including masonry, wooden pallets and a metal trolley.
Judge McColgan said Curley came before the court without any previous convictions, describing her as "extremely vulnerable young woman'' who suffers from depression and panic attacks after a "vicious attack upon her a couple of years ago'' and also has poor physical health.
She said the aggravating features in the case was Curley's "sustained involvement in the rioting'' and the number of missiles she had thrown along with the number of police officers injured.
In mitigation, the judge said was taking into account that she surrendered herself to police, her genuine remorse, her early guilty plea, her clear record, and her all round poor health.
Judge McColgan said she agreed with a pre-sentence report compiled by the Probation Service that in the "peculiar circumstances of this case'' that Curley could be dealt with by way of a combination order made up of community service and probation.
"Combination orders are not trivial matters and I have formed the view that a combination order could be of enormous benefit to Rebecca Curley,'' said the judge.
"I would like to say to you Ms Curley that you are extremely lucky on this occasion because ordinarily you would have been going straight to prison.''