A man has been jailed for four years for what Mr Justice Abbott at the Central Criminal Court called a savage assault on a Cork woman two years ago.
Duke Lee, also known as John Smith and Philip Ivor Stanley, with a former address at Lysten Road, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to a 28-year-old woman on January 22nd and 23rd, 2002, at Mill Road, Bandon, Co Cork.
The court heard that gardaí had ascertained Lee's correct date of birth to be September 18th, 1949, though he had given them another date, August 19th, 1968.
He had previous convictions under the name "John Smith", including a five-year sentence in 1972 for grievous bodily harm.
Mr Justice Abbott said it was a savage assault which really merited the maximum sentence of five years, but he gave Lee credit for his early guilty plea. He also backdated the sentence to the date Lee went into custody, January 24th, 2002.
"He cannot make the case that his burst of anger on this occasion was a once-off matter in view of his previous convictions of this nature," Mr Justice Abbott said. He refused an application for leave to appeal severity of sentence.
The court heard the assault happened after Lee became angry with the woman for refusing to carry out an order he gave her.
The woman said he repeatedly beat her and threatened to kill her when using a scissors which he stabbed into a cupboard.