Man (27) who choked ex-partner and hit her with plank of timber has jail sentence overturned

Fionnuala Walsh

A man who choked his ex-partner and hit her with a plank of timber in her own home has had his custodial sentence overturned.

The 27-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was appealing against the severity of a nine-month custodial sentence he received after an attack on his ex-partner.

The man had pleaded guilty to assault causing harm at a house in Co Wicklow on October 26th, 2023, contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997.

The man was previously given a nine-month prison sentence with four months suspended in the District Court.

Sergeant Paul O’Sullivan of Ashford Garda Station on Tuesday told the District Court Appeals Court, sitting in Bray, that the man went to the home of his ex-partner and “put his hands around her neck, chased her with a plank of timber and hit her with it”.

During the prolonged attack, Garda O’Sullivan told the court that the man also punched the woman and injured her wrists.

In a victim impact statement to the court, the woman said that she received bruises on her arms, neck and torso, and was put into a “very dark place mentally”.

She said she feared for her life when her former partner put his hands on her neck as she “almost lost consciousness”, adding that her “nervous system was in shock”.

The woman said that as a result of the attack, even small tasks such as going to the supermarket “seem impossible” and she has isolated herself to “avoid having a panic attack around people”.

The defendant’s solicitor, Jeremiah Breen, said that his client has expressed remorse for the incident. He said the man had suffered a relapse at the time of the incident and was not taking his antipsychotic medication. He said that the appellant has since availed of mental health treatment.

Judge Patrick Quinn said that the victim impact statement made for “harrowing reading” and the seriousness of the assault was at the “higher end”.

The judge imposed the maximum on summary conviction for the offence of 12 months imprisonment but fully suspended it for a period of two years, under the condition that the man not contact the victim and continue availing of mental health services.