Man who sent threatening texts to ex receives suspended sentence in Cork court

A man told his frightened ex-partner in a series of threatening and nasty texts that her “whore’s protection order” would not save her from him and neither would the gardaí.

Sergeant John Kelleher said the woman received texts from him late at night and was frightened when she read them when she woke in the morning.

They included the following texts:

“I have to go to the garda station over you and your whore’s protection order.” “Do you think the protection order frightens me?” “You and those shades will do f*** all about it.” 

“Do you think that is something to hold over me?” “I told you go to the station and drop the protection order.” “You either drop it or I tell you this will go to shit again.” 

“You’re an over-exaggerating liar.” “If you want to be in court for domestic violence I’ll give you something f***ing true to tell them. You rat, that’s all you are.” 

Yesterday, at Cork District Court, Judge District Court, Judge Catherine Ryan imposed a sentence of two months on the accused man but suspended it on the basis that he would not re-offend in the next two years.

Judge Ryan took into consideration that the incident dating back a long time to March 2021 and that there had been no problems since in terms of breaching orders. 

Frank Buttimer, solicitor, acknowledged that much of the fault for the delay rested with the defendant. 

Judge Ryan said the accused had “dipped and dived along the way” in terms of a number of failures to appear in court.

“If he had faced the music when this happened he might have been put in touch with the probation service and been put on a different path,” 

the judge said.

The judge referred to the texts as threatening and nasty.

Mr Buttimer said the defendant, who cannot be named as the case was brought at an in camera hearing under the Domestic Violence Act, acknowledged that his behaviour was unacceptable.

The judge also gave the 31-year-old three days in default of payment of fines for public order matters, one of which occurred in May 2022 and another earlier one where he obstructed his arrest for being drunk and threatening. 

Perhaps also guilty of seeing too many crime movies, the defendant asked the arresting garda on one occasion in Cork city: “What is your probable cause?”