THE Poleglass man who was badly beaten on the Suffolk Road and whose home was later targeted in a vigilante attack has spoken out in an effort to clear his name.
Paul McCabe (48) was battered with a baseball bat and a wheel brace in a horrific assault which left him with several stitches on his head, a broken kneecap, broken ribs and a broken nose. He said the attack has left him fearing for his life.
The attack took place last week after tensions rocketed in the Lenadoon area amidst claims a man had dragged a teenage girl towards a derelict house and assaulted her on the evening of September 26 in Glenveagh Drive just off the Suffolk Road.
A second report of a separate sexual assault on a teenager in the Lagmore area on the same evening led to outraged reaction both on social media and on the streets. Mr McCabe was attacked three days later. He believes his beating was fuelled by allegations about him on social media after footage of him in a shop at the top of the Suffolk Road was shared widely. Claims were made about his interaction with a female child in the shop, with many comments focusing on a picture of sheets in the back of his car, which Mr McCabe said are always in the vehicle in connection with his job as a plasterer.
Mr McCabe – who is no longer living in Belfast – said the incident which kicked off the chain of events took place when he went into the shop to buy dog food.
“I went into the shop and as I was coming in a wee girl was coming out and I said hello and we made eye contact," he said. "I was in and out in two minutes buying dog food.
INJURIES: Paul McCabe after his hospital appointment 
"My car was facing out the way and when I drove out she was standing at the corner on her way into the estate. I had to turn at the estate to make my way back down the road and as I turned I waved at her.
“Later on that night I was in the house with my girlfriend and my brother sent me a picture of me in the shop and asked ‘What’s this?’ because the shop had put my picture up and there were all these comments underneath.
“I decided to go back down to the shop to see what was going on and as I turned up the police were there and I waved them down. I said to the police, 'That’s me in that footage, what’s going on here?' I gave them my information and they took it down and said that was okay and they would be in touch and they drove off."
Mr McCabe said he wasn't arrested but had allowed the police to take his photograph. As soon as police left the area the attack began, he told us.
“After this, other people got out of a car and I was beaten and attacked," he said. "I was hit with the bat and I managed to pick myself up and ran down the Suffolk Road. I sort of collapsed because of my injuries and a car pulled up in front of me and the man got out and I was attacked again with the bat and a wheel brace.
"I managed to get close to the man and take the wheel brace from him and forced myself up and to run up the road to the off-licence where I knew they had security doors and they phoned the police.”
BADLY BEATEN: Paul McCabe
The following evening, a large crowd gathered outside his Poleglass home and caused significant damage to the property.
Online speculation increased when pictures began circulating online of white sheets, rolls of carpet and a knife in Mr McCabe's car.
He said as a plasterer he always keeps white sheets in his car to prevent it from getting dirty and he had just removed the carpet from his girlfriend's house. The knife had been used to cut the carpet, he said.
He went on: “That whole week prior I had been doing work in my home. I had been up and down to a builders' merchants, I even still have some of the slabs still sitting in my front garden and the rest of the materials are sitting around the back, as the work isn’t finished.
"I am constantly working so I always have materials in and out of my car and the sheets are to stop the car getting dirty, but those comments made me out to be all sorts of horrible things and I want to clear that up."
Mr McCabe said the episode has been a "nightmare" for him and his family, adding he was totally innocent of alleged sexual assaults on girls in the Suffolk Road and Lagmore areas.
PLASTERER: Paul stated the items in his car and boot were from his work in the plastering trade and from doing work on his own house
“It’s been a nightmare, it’s been the worst thing in my life. I just want people to know that I’m not a monster, I have a daughter and a son of my own and I would never do any of the things people have accused me of. I just want to clean up this whole mess and let people know that I am totally innocent.”
Mr McCabe said the police are currently investigating the assault he suffered. Our interview took place shortly after his latest hospital check-up.
“I have broken ribs, a broken nose, stitches in my head, my ribs are also severely bruised. I have a broken kneecap and stitches in my knee and in the other leg. I have bruises and cuts all over, everywhere is sore and my head and eyes were busted.”
Mr McCabe said he no longer feels safe in West Belfast and will not be returning.
“I know at the moment the police are doing their best, I believe there will be an update soon but I don’t want to continue living in West Belfast after everything that’s happened and I don’t believe I’ll come back.”
A spokesperson for the PSNI said: "A 48-year-old man arrested in connection with two sexual assaults which were reported to have occurred in West Belfast on Thursday, 26th September, has been released on bail to return for further questioning at a later date.
"The assault investigation is still ongoing. There are no further details at this stage."
