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Boot assault lands man state prison term

A Warren man — who is also a sexual offender — will spend six month more in state prison for beating another man in the face with his boot on Christmas night, resulting in an orbital fracture.

Daren Patrick Mahaney, 23, currently incarcerated at SCI-Fayette south of Pittsburgh, was sentenced via video by President Judge Maureen Skeda on Friday.

City of Warren police responded to a report of a possible domestic issue at a residence on Rankin Street at about 11:07 p.m. last Christmas They found a man with a swollen and blood-covered face, according to the criminal complaint accompanying the charges.

The man told police the two argued and Mahaney picked up his own boot and beat him multiple times in the face with it, the complaint states.

He pled guilty in August to simple assault while charges of aggravated assault and harassment were not prosecuted by the Commonwealth.

His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Mike Kitay, said his client is “sorry for his actions” and said his client and the victim weren’t getting along and “one thing led to another” and the incident escalated.

Kitay said they dispute the use of the boot but not in an attempt to minimize the seriousness of the conduct.

The victim, who still wants contact with Mahaney, told the court that his nose was broken in addition to the orbital fracture and that he had trouble seeing for some time.

Mahaney apologized and said he “didn’t intentionally mean to hurt him that bad,” acknowledging he shouldn’t have escalated the situation.

Skerda called the injuries “serious” and pointed out the victim could have lost his eye.

She called the plea offer from the Commonwealth “generous” and said she believes it is “appropriate” that additional jail time be served.

He was then sentenced to six to 12 months incarceration, $975 in fines and fees, submission of a DNA sample, a no trespass order and whichever is appropriate between anger management and healthy relationships programming. Skerda said he is not boot camp or recidivism risk reduction incentive eligible.

Mahaney is currently incarcerated at SCI-Fayette on a probation violation from a sentence in 2018 in which he sent and received sexual photos to and from an 11-year-old girl via Snapchat. As a Tier I sexual offender, he has a 15 year registration requirement.

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