Yesterday (January 29) Joshua Friel (19) and Eoin Curley Rafferty (18), both from Donegal, plead guilty to robbery, assault causing harm, and criminal damage, reports The Independent.

The pair originally appeared in court in November for the assault case, which was adjourned until January.

The charges stem from an assault on a foreign national, who was touring with a production of Mamma Mia!, and was lured to a meeting with the two men via Grindr.

The unnamed Chinese man had agreed to meet Friel after exchanging messages on Grindr at around 11pm on July 12, 2015. The victim then took a cab from Derry to meet Friel, and arrived around 3am.

The pair, along with another man, beat their victim with a baseball bat and robbed him of money and a mobile phone during the attack.

Friel, who was 17 at the time, had swapped pictures and phone numbers with the Chinese man on Grindr, and then arranged to meet him in a remote area known as The Castle in Newtowncunningham, Donegal.

During the attack in which the victim was also robbed, the three men accused him of a paedophile. Afterwards, the perpetrators gave the victim money to get a cab back to Derry, where he reported the crime after receiving hospital treatment for bruising and suspected broken ribs.

Presiding Judge Paul Kelly raised the issue of compensation for the victim, which he suggested should be “at least four figures”.

“Clearly this unfortunate young man suffered greatly in what was a particularly mean-minded and calculated attack,” Kelly told the court. He adjourned the case until July to give the men time to come up with €2,000 each for the victim.