Jail for husband who raised fist to wife evening before assault trial
Tom Tuite
A husband, who raised his fist and adopted a “fighting stance” to his wife the evening before she was due to testify against him for assaulting her previously, has been jailed.
The stay-at-home father, who is in his 50s and moved to Ireland in recent years, pleaded guilty on Wednesday at Dublin District Court to breaching a protection order last September, which had a “harrowing” effect on his terrified wife.
Judge Monika Leech, who imposed a four-month sentence, heard the man’s wife had taken out the order through the family law courts earlier in the year.
He cannot be identified due to the Domestic Violence Act reporting restrictions.
She was due to give evidence against him the next day in a case where he was accused of assaulting her, which resulted in a two-month jail sentence.
Outlining the facts, Garda Caroline Byrne told the court that the wife reported that the accused, who lived in the same house, arrived back and began shouting.
His wife took their child to another and locked the door, but he kept shouting.
The court heard that when she came out, he “raised his fist and adopted a fighting stance”, putting her in fear.
The garda agreed with defence counsel Declan Higgins BL that the guilty plea was valuable and spared the woman from having to give evidence again.
The court heard that the accused has been in custody on remand since being charged just over six weeks ago.
Mr Higgins, pleading for leniency, said his client had an unblemished record before his and the earlier assault and breach of a protection order case.
He had looked after their children while his wife pursued a career in financial services and provided a significant income for the family.
Counsel said the previous case led to a difficult hearing for all concerned. Since going into custody and finding himself in the Irish penal system, the accused has been using his time well to improve his language skills and has been working in custody.
The accused did not address the court and began weeping as the hearing reached the sentencing stage.
Mr Higgins informed the judge of his client’s intention to leave Ireland and return to his home country in Asia to care for his elderly father.
It was submitted that this would also quell the situation with his family, and he wanted to be involved in his children’s lives.
Judge Leech noted his guilty plea but also stressed the aggravating factors and the distress it caused to the man’s wife as outlined in a victim impact statement, which the judge described as “harrowing”. The woman did not have to attend the hearing.
Imprisoning him, she said the woman’s life had been upended by her husband; these events had taken a huge toll on her mental and physical health, and she was fed up coming to court.
The sentence was backdated to November 30th, when he was first charged, and did not apply for bail.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information.
Safe Ireland also offers a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
