A 50-year-old man has received an entirely suspended sentence for kicking his partner in the head and breaking her jaw while she held their toddler in her arms.
The father of two, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had pleaded guilty to common assault. He was initially charged with assault causing harm, but the plea was acceptable to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The accused travelled from his home in continental Europe to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to face the charge on Monday. His victim was also present in court.
The court heard that the couple had a two-year-old child together when he attacked her in their home on September 10th, 2010.
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The woman was sitting on the couch with their child in her arms, when they began arguing. The man then kicked her hard in the right side of her face.
After putting her child to bed, she went to hospital, where she required surgery for a broken jaw.
She left the relationship 12 months later and has sole custody of their child. Her attacker moved abroad, where he now has another child with a new partner.
She reported the attack to An Garda Síochána in 2021. The accused was arrested in 2022 at Dublin Airport and there is currently a safety order in place.
A victim impact statement was handed into the court, but the woman did not wish to read it aloud.
The court heard that the man has no other convictions and had offered €2,000 in compensation to his victim. However, she did not wish to accept it.
His barrister said the man has a work history and also volunteers in his local area.
A reference from his current partner was also handed to the court. It said his offending was out of character and that there was no violence in their relationship.
Judge Orla Crowe said the fact the woman was his intimate partner at the time and was holding their child were both aggravating factors.
She said that a considerable amount of force must have been used to break her jaw.
Judge Crowe noted from the victim impact statement that he had never apologised.
“That is a striking feature in relation to this,” she remarked. “The sum of money was rejected. What she appeared to have wanted all the way along was an apology.”
The judge noted that there had been physical and psychological effects on the victim, that she had to pay €500 in medical bills, suffered many nightmares since and had to raise a child alone.
“The court cannot gainsay the seriousness of this,” she said.
She pointed out, however, that the defendant had returned to Ireland to address this issue and had engaged with the process.
Noting that the maximum penalty was six months in prison, she imposed a sentence of three months and two weeks, before suspending it “in its entirety”.
Notwithstanding that the victim did not wish to accept the €2,000, the judge ordered that €500 be paid to her to cover her medical outlay.
The judge also gave her 30 days to decide if she wished to accept the remainder of the sum and if she didn’t, directed that it should be paid to a woman’s refuge.
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