A man who viciously assaulted a woman in her own home after she intervened in a row between him and his girlfriend has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Robert Cronnolly (29), of Tamarisk Lawns, Kilnamanagh, Tallaght, Dublin, pleaded guilty to assaulting Cornelia Brouder causing her harm at Railway Avenue, Inchicore, Dublin, on March 26th, 2017.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Cronnolly punched Ms Brouder several times in the face and body, grabbed her by the throat and tried to strangle her.
Ms Brouder’s jaw was broken in three places, she underwent facial surgery and she has been left with permanent metal plates in her jaw. The court heard she suffers from ongoing pain, anxiety and nightmares as a result of the assault.
In a victim impact statement which was read out on her behalf, Ms Brouder said she would “hesitate before coming to the aid of a friend again”.
Passing sentence on Wednesday, Judge Martin Nolan said it was a “vicious, particularly reprehensible and unforgivable assault” on someone who did not deserve it.
Having an argument
Judge Nolan said Cronnolly had been having an argument with his then girlfriend and Ms Brouder had tried to help her friend and had been punched, grabbed by the throat and strangled. He said Ms Brouder had felt her life was in danger and had suffered serious injuries and much pain and distress.
“If you punch somebody forcefully and fearfully, there’s no surprise in relation to these injuries. He must have known this,” said Judge Nolan, noting that Cronnolly was “prone to ill-temper” and had “certainly lost his temper” on this date.
He said the assault was “at the upper end” of the scale of seriousness and that the headline sentence was four to 4½ years. However, he said mitigating factors for Cronnolly included his guilty plea, his remorse and the “good points” of his personality.
Garda Ian Crowley told Cathleen Noctor, prosecuting, that the attack happened after Ms Brouder came home one night to find her flatmate, Sara Tomale, arguing in the hall with her boyfriend.
Her flatmate was crying and emotional and the issue seemed to be that Cronnolly had refused to leave the house.
Ms Brouder later told gardaí that her flatmate and Cronnolly were shouting back and forth to each other and that she thought Cronnolly was going to hit Sara so she intervened and said “Who do you think you are, talking to her like that? You need to leave right now.”
The two women almost managed to push Cronnolly out of the front door but he was extremely aggressive and agitated and he started punching, pulling and pushing at Ms Brouder, knocking her into the living room.
Ms Brouder said Cronnolly was like “a pot boiling over” and that he kept coming at her, pushed her over the cooker, grabbed her throat and then punched her full force in the face.
Blood was spewing from Ms Brouder’s mouth and Cronnolly then let her go and said, “You’re a dead woman; you can say whatever you want to the guards, I’m going to f***ing kill you.”
Ms Tomale told gardaí that she didn’t remember exactly what had happened but that Cronnolly had left by bicycle after the assault.
Ms Brouder attended the emergency department at St James’ Hospital where an X-ray showed multiple jaw fractures requiring stitches, facial surgery to realign her jaw and hospitalisation for five days.
Victim impact statement
In her victim impact statement, Ms Brouder said her face swelled up to twice its size and she suffered unbearable, intense and excruciating pain. She couldn’t eat, sleep or drink for weeks and could not open her mouth for over a month
Her facial nerves and teeth had been permanently damaged and the assault caused her jaw to crack on a daily basis when she swallowed or chewed and had altered how she speaks and looks.
“I will have to live with two metal plates in my jaw for the rest of my life,” she said.
Cronnolly has 12 previous convictions including three for assault causing harm. Other offences include criminal damage and arson.
Cronnolly said he went later to a Garda station to report threats made against him, but Garda Crowley said there was no record of him going to any station.
Sarah-Jane O’Callaghan, defending, said a psychiatric report showed a significant family history of mental illness.
The report said Cronnolly had a “mental and behavioural disorder due to psychoactive drugs”, which Ms O’Callaghan said meant that in other words, “drugs didn’t suit him”.
‘Getting into rages’
She said that from an early age, Cronnolly was always “getting into rages” and that his response to situations was that “a red mist would descend upon him”.
The court heard Cronnolly had a chronic alcohol and drug addiction and that he was continuing to use cannabis as he claimed it was the only way to control his chronic anxiety.
Ms O’Callaghan said her client had a deep sense of remorse and shock at the assault that he had inflicted on a totally innocent party and was incapable of looking at photos of Ms Brouder as he was so ashamed of his behaviour.
She said Cronnolly was a devoted father to his daughter and loved animals and painting.
The court received letters from Cronnolly’s family members describing him as “very caring” and someone with “a big heart”.