A man who subjected his ex-partner to a “persistent” and “serious” attack over six years ago has been jailed.
Dean Synnott (28) of Wellmount Road, Finglas pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of assault causing harm at the same address on October 14th, 2017.
An investigating garda told John Moher BL, prosecuting, that the victim had gone to Synnott's home the night before. In the early hours of the morning, the victim brought Synnott, who appeared intoxicated, to bed and said she was going home.
Punch
When she went to leave his bedroom, he grabbed her and said she wasn't going. He then threw her on the bed and attempted to get on top of her, but she kicked him off. Synnott put his hand over her mouth, then punched her to the side of the head.
The victim managed to get up, but Synnott pulled her to the ground. He then got on top of her and began to hit the back of her head. There were others in the house and the victim screamed for someone to call 999. Synnott told her she shouldn't have screamed and “no one is going to help you”.
He then asked her what was wrong, opened the bedroom door and said he was not stopping her from leaving. While the victim was walking downstairs, Synnott grabbed her and said she wasn't leaving.
He then pushed her down the stairs, got on top of her and wrapped one hand around her neck, so she could not breathe. He hit her around 10 times to her face.
During the attack, Synnott told the victim she was “making it hard on herself” and he only wanted to talk.
After leaving the house, the victim started to run and was followed by Synnott, who grabbed her and punched her. She managed to get up and started to walk towards Finglas, but he pulled her towards the house.
Drivers didn't stop
The victim ran into the road when a taxi drove past, but the driver didn't stop when she screamed for help. Other cars also drove past without stopping.
Synnott told her that “no one is going to come over to you, you are wasting your time”. She agreed to his request to go back to the house and said she would stay outside.
When they got to the house, the woman ran and hid after Synnott went inside briefly. She heard Synnott shouting: “Silly little bitch, I'm going to kill you.”
She then called the gardaí and when they arrived, she again ran towards Finglas. A taxi driver saw her and dropped her to the garda station. Synnott told gardaí that he'd had a disagreement with his girlfriend and she'd left the house. They observed he was intoxicated and left as the victim wasn't there.
The victim was later taken to Beaumont Hospital and a medical report was submitted to the court. She sustained a head injury and bruises to her body. Gardaí also observed red marks on her cheeks and a cut on her lips.
A victim impact statement was read on her behalf by Mr Moher. The victim said she was concerned Synnott was going to kill her that night and said she suffers panic attacks each October when “it all comes flooding back”.
Trauma
She said the incident affected her mental health and she has difficulty sleeping. She also expressed concern that other people did not offer her assistance during the attack.
Synnott was interviewed following his arrest, but nothing of evidential value was obtained. He has nine previous convictions, all at the District Court, which post-date this incident.
The garda agreed with Aidan McCarthy BL, defending, that his client had no convictions at the time. The garda said he was not aware that the relationship continued for several months after this incident.
Mr McCarthy offered a sincere apology from his client to the victim. He said Synnott was 22 at the time of this incident and has no memory of the event.
A psychological report was also handed to the court. Mr McCarthy said his client was raised by his grandmother as he was born when his mother was a teenager. Synnott has a diagnosis of ADHD and spent a period of time in care when he was 17. During this time, he was moved out of Dublin, later finding out from his mother that this was because there was a threat to his safety.
Defence counsel said his client has addiction issues, but is currently drug-free. He suffered an overdose in 2018 and spent nine weeks in Beaumont Hospital. Synnott has since developed cognitive and mobility issues.
A letter from the Simon Community was handed to the court. Synnott's mother and his key worker were in court to support him. Mr McCarthy asked the court to consider imposing a suspended sentence to give his client a “chance to remain in the community”.
Judge Martin Nolan said there were “two stages to this attack”, that it was “persistent, determined” and would have been “very frightening” for the victim.
He noted the mitigation and said it is “difficult to know” if Synnott will re-offend in future, but the court considers he “probably won't to this extent”.
Judge Nolan said this was a “serious attack” and he could not agree to the defence's submission to impose a non-custodial sentence. He handed Synnott a three-year prison sentence, with the final year suspended on strict conditions.
Judge Nolan said Synnott had “attacked this young lady in a serious way” and he “has to go to prison by reason of that behaviour, it's too serious”.
