Man who assaulted former partner with hoover pole jailed for two years

This article contains references to rape and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.

By Fiona Ferguson

A man who beat his former partner with a hoover pole has been given a two year sentence.

The Central Criminal Court heard that the woman was left with extensive bruising and cuts to her face, neck, arm, hands, shoulder and legs. She suffered carpet burns from being dragged across the sitting room floor

The 45-year-old accused man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to assault of the woman causing her harm and production of a hoover pole at his home, in February 2022.

The accused man had been on trial twice on a further allegation of anal rape of the woman on the same occasion but the jury disagreed in both trials. He had pleaded not guilty to this offence.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has entered a nolle prosequi in relation to the rape charge, meaning the charge has been dropped.

The man has a previous conviction for assault which occurred after the woman made the rape allegation against him. He served a four month sentence for this offence.

The woman did not wish to make a victim impact statement to the court.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Patrick McGrath said the woman had suffered a considerable number of injuries and the court must take the level of violence involved very seriously.

He set a headline sentence of three years to reflect the offending.

The judge noted in mitigation the early guilty plea and the man’s expressions of remorse. He noted there was a subsequent assault for which the defendant has already served a sentence.

Mr Justice McGrath sentenced the accused man to two years’ imprisonment which he backdated to reflect the time he has already spent in custody.

An investigating garda told Garrett McCormack BL, prosecuting, that the woman reported to gardai that she had been assaulted by the man. She told gardai that there had been a verbal argument in respect of alleged cheating and he became aggressive and threw her to the ground.

He assaulted her with the pipe of a hoover, striking her several times, and broke a glass panel in the kitchen door. The assault continued into the sitting room where she was punched and struck and hit again with the hoover pipe.

The accused was arrested, denied the rape allegation and gave a “mixed” version of events to gardai.

The court heard a decision was later made to charge him with anal rape and the second assault, for which he has already served a sentence, occurred in an effort to get her to withdraw her statement.

Joanne Williams BL, defending, said the couple had ben in an “on-off” relationship at the time and living separately. She said both parties were abusing substances of one kind or another.

She said the accused has a good work history prior to going into custody after giving up his bail voluntarily. She handed in character references on the accused man’s behalf.

She asked the court to take into account his early guilty plea in relation to the assault and had expressed remorse in relation to the assault to the injured party during the first trail. She said he has asked her to re-iterate this and apologise to the woman.

She said he has recognised that alcohol is at the root of his offending and wants to engage with AA.