A father of four has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for attacking his former partner and her mother with a knife in the family home while two of his children slept.
The now 27-year-old man pleaded guilty to attempting to commit assault causing harm at an address in Foxrock, Co Dublin, on August 31st, 2021, and again on September 5th, 2021.
He also pleaded guilty to threatening to damage his former partner’s home, and threatening to kick a door in and smash it up contrary to a safety order on September 24th 2022.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that he had 15 previous convictions, including for assault.
Passing the sentence on Monday, Judge Martina Baxter said that he had placed the mother of his two older children in fear, and that he had contravened a safety order. Another aggravating factor was that he had committed the latter offences while on bail.
The court heard that the first offence happened at half past midnight in the home that his two young children shared with his former partner. Her mother was also there, and he had swung a knife at her.
When gardaí arrived, he had been aggressive and had to be restrained. He was arrested and released.
Less than a week later, her mother was again at the ground-floor apartment looking after the children, when she saw the defendant approach the balcony at 6.30am. He tried to open the door and was shouting abusive language at her.
The plastic patio furniture was thrown around and an ashtray was thrown at the window. The defendant was seen approaching his ex-partner’s car and was intoxicated when arrested around 9am.
A year later, when he threatened to kick the door in and ‘smash the gaff’, his ex-partner became so upset that she left the accommodation with her two young children. He was on bail at the time, one of the conditions being that he was to have no contact with her.
She went to her mother’s address, but the calls continued, and she described him as being out of it.
Their eight-year relationship had broken down due to his use of drugs and alcohol. She later obtained a safety order.
The court heard that the defendant was living with his mother at the time, his father having recently died of cancer. The court also heard that he has since met a new partner and now has two more children. He was recently diagnosed with ADHD.
Judge Baxter sentenced him to three and a half years in prison for the August 2021 attempted assault, and a consecutive three years for the September 2021 attempted assault.
She imposed two and a half years for the threats while on bail a year later to run consecutive to the first sentence imposed. She also handed down eight months for the threat contrary to the safety order. This was to be backdated to May of this year, giving a total sentence of six years and six months.
Judge Baxter then suspended the final 18 months on a number of conditions, including that he engage with the Men Overcoming Violent Emotions group.
