Man tried to cut his tattooed initials out of ex's buttock with knife, Cork court is told

A love heart and the initials of an ex-boyfriend were tattooed to a woman’s left buttock, but after the break-up of their relationship he attacked her with a Stanley knife trying to cut out the tattoo.

That was the evidence from Det Garda Linda Lyons at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in the case against the 37-year-old man.

After the attack he fled the country and did not return for ten years, mistakenly believing that by staying away for this period of time the state would be prevented from prosecuting him because of the delay.

Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated burglary on August 21, 2013 at his ex-partner’s home, specifically, trespassing while armed with a weapon of offence, namely a Stanley blade.

Det Garda Lyons said that on that day the young woman was in and out of her house putting her two very young children into their car seats and was about to go shopping.

She had split up from her partner some time before this date and had a tattoo with his initials on her left buttock.

The defendant arrived at her home unannounced and said to her: “I will get off that tattoo.” 

He produced the Stanley knife and stabbed her multiple times in the buttock through her clothing, leaving her badly scarred and bleeding.

After the attack, he went over to the children in the car, kissed them, said goodbye and left the area.

Judge Helen Boyle made an order preventing identification of the parties in the case because of the involvement with children during the incident and their right to anonymity under the Children’s Act.

Setting a headline sentence, Judge Boyle said it lay in the mid-range of such offences and that a headline sentence of five years was appropriate.

On the basis of the defendant’s diagnosed condition of psychosis, that term was reduced to four years at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. 

The judge said that the plea of guilty was a very significant matter in a case like this which saved the victim the trauma of giving evidence and saved the state the time and expense of a trial. 

For that reason the sentence was further reduced to three years.

The final matter taken into consideration by the judge was the good prospect of the defendant rehabilitating the judge said she would suspend the last year of the three-year term.

Judge Boyle said that on his release from prison the defendant should undertake any course directed by the probation service, for instance a programme such as Men Overcoming Violent Emotions.

Defence senior counsel Tom Creed said the accused had already spent 78 days on remand in custody on this matter and that he should be given credit for that period. 

The judge so directed and told the accused he would be under the direction of the probation service for one year following the completion of his sentence.

The victim was in her early 20s at the time of the knife attack. 

Det Garda Lyons said the injured party had moved on and was doing very well in her life now.