Man jailed for strangling pregnant partner on Christmas Eve

By Eimear Dodd

A man who assaulted and strangled his then partner who was pregnant at the time has been jailed.

The 36-year-old pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and the non-fatal strangulation on December 24, 2023.

An investigating garda told Jane McCudden BL, prosecuting, that the man and the victim had been in a long-term relationship and were living together at the time in a property in South Dublin.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the man and the victim were socialising with family members at a local pub on the night of December 23.

There was an argument and the woman, who was then pregnant, left around 12am. The man followed her home where the disagreement continued.

While the woman was sitting on a sofa, the man started to hold her down by the neck. The woman was scared and couldn’t breathe.

She pleaded with him to stop. He also punched her in the eye, leaving a bruise, while she was on the sofa.

During the incident, the woman was on the ground in the sitting room, and the man strangled her, holding her neck as tightly as possible. The victim thought she would die.

The man also dragged her by the hair along the floor and into the kitchen, and she attempted to defend herself. The woman sustained a cut to her lip and blooded nose.

She contacted gardai a few hours later and when they arrived, they observed visible signs of injury to her face and arms.

The man was still in the property and gardai noticed a bruise on his wrist. He was arrested and made admissions during interview including to grabbing the woman by her neck and dragging her by her hair.

Photos of the woman’s injuries were given to the court. She did not require hospitalisation for her injuries and went to her GP.  A victim impact statement was handed to the court and not read aloud.

The man has four previous convictions for road traffic and drugs possession offences, the most recent of which dates back to 2014.

The garda agreed with defence counsel that the man was co-operative during the investigation and entered an early guilty plea.

It was accepted that the man acknowledged to gardai that his behaviour was disgraceful and he has no previous convictions for violent offending.

The garda also agreed that the relationship between the man and the woman ended following this incident and there have been no further issues.

A letter of apology and other documents, including a GP letter, were handed into court.

Defence counsel said her client takes full responsibility for his actions and is deeply sorry.

His background and personal circumstances were outlined to the court. The man has a longstanding addiction, which he has taken steps to address.

Counsel also said her client has significant mental health issues and made a number of suicide attempts, but has been unable to get support.

The man’s family are supportive, but don’t condone his behaviour. His mother was in court to support him. He had a good work history, the court heard.

Counsel said this was a “horrific and disgraceful” assault, but thankfully, the victim did not suffer more serious injuries.
She asked the court to consider imposing a non-custodial sentence.

Judge Martin Nolan said this was a “very serious” situation and would have been very frightening for the woman, who feared she was going to die as the man strangled her.

He said the offending was “too serious” and the man “can’t escape a custodial term”.

Having considered the mitigation, Judge Nolan imposed a sentence of two and a half years, with the final 20 months suspended on strict conditions.

Addressing the man, Judge Nolan told him it is up to him not to re-offend. “That’s a warning to you for your future behaviour”.
“I think it’s a warning to everyone that they shouldn’t attack physically weaker people,” the judge said, noting the victim was the “weaker party”  on the night in question.