A Dublin teenager who falsely imprisoned his partner and subjected her to a series of nine assaults over two months last summer is to be sentenced later at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Cameron Curtis (19) of Finglas Road, Finglas, pleaded guilty to assaulting Alannah Corrigan (20) causing her harm on July 19th, 2022 while the two were staying overnight at The Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire.
He further admitted seven counts of assault causing harm and one count of false imprisonment of Ms Corrigan on August 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th at various locations in Binary Hub, Bonham Street in Dublin 8.
At a hearing on Wednesday, the court heard that Curtis kicked, punched and slapped Ms Corrigan repeatedly during the assaults, also grabbing her by the hair, spitting in her face, squeezing her neck in a chokehold and threatening to kill her and smash a glass bottle over her head.
'Hostile witness'
Detective Garda Mark Costello agreed with Barry White SC, defending, that Ms Corrigan was a “hostile witness” and that she and Curtis remain in a relationship.
The court heard that Curtis accused Ms Corrigan of cheating on him and became violent when she would not disclose her Snapchat password to him.
Gda Costello told Simon Matthews BL, prosecuting, that Ms Corrigan had booked them a room in the Royal Marine Hotel for one night when Curtis accused her of cheating, threatening to smash a glass Kopparberg cider bottle over her head if she didn't tell him who she was cheating with.
Ms Corrigan later told gardaí that Curtis hit her face 10 or 11 times with his fist and that she was screaming throughout the assault.
Staff members came to the scene and described Curtis as “aggressive and rude”, the court heard.
Gardaí were alerted and took a report but Ms Corrigan did not wish to proceed with the complaint.
She went to hospital and was treated with anti-inflammatories and paracetamol, the court heard.
Some weeks later, the couple were staying in Ms Corrigan's sister's room at student accommodation at Binary Hub on Bonham Street when Curtis again assaulted the victim.
Ms Corrigan later told gardaí that Curtis slapped her in the face when she wouldn't disclose her Snapchat password, before calming down and having what she described as “periods of normality” before he became violent again.
Demanded password
The couple slept for a while before Ms Corrigan woke to him grabbing her by the neck, demanding her password and dragging her by the hair to the ground.
He kicked her on both arms and legs, punched her head and jaw several times, slapped her and spat in her face before calming down again, the court heard.
Ms Corrigan said he later accused her of cheating again and punched her in the face and then the following morning apologised for the injuries he had caused before becoming violent again.
Ms Corrigan said Curtis pulled her by her hair around the bathroom and then punched her in the face while he was on the phone to his mother, causing her to bleed heavily.
She said a “period of normality” followed for two hours before Curtis again became violent, knelt on Ms Corrigan's chest and said: “I'm going to kill you.”
The victim was dragged by her hair and neck into the bathroom, thrown on the wet floor and locked in for 45 minutes.
Knife
After Ms Corrigan was released from the bathroom, Curtis threatened her with a knife, calmed down for half an hour, then grew violent again, throwing a mobile phone at her head.
He kicked his girlfriend on both legs, slapped her face, stamped on her and wrapped his arms around her neck in what she described as a “chokehold” during an assault lasting over half an hour, the court heard.
At one point while Ms Corrigan lay crying on the bed saying, “Please stop hurting me,” Curtis started crying and said: “Look at what you made me do. You're making me out to be like my Da and I hated my Da for what he used to do to my Ma.”
Ms Corrigan told gardaí that she became incredibly scared and believed she was going to die when Curtis locked her in the bathroom a second time and said he was going to get a scissors.
The court heard she managed to get out of the bathroom and locked him out of the bedroom, but he kicked the door down and then left when she started screaming.
Gardaí attended the scene and Ms Corrigan was treated for her injuries which were photographed.
Damage to room
Some days later, Ms Corrigan was again attacked by Curtis in the room next door, as the previous room was inhabitable because of the damage done during the previous assaults.
He kicked and punched her repeatedly, accused her of cheating, demanded her Snapchat password, dragged her by the hair and strangled her by squeezing her throat until she couldn't breathe and felt she was going to get sick.
Ms Corrigan managed to raise the alarm and gardaí arrived and arrested Curtis.
He was deemed unfit for interview for a lengthy period and then underwent six garda interviews, making certain admissions to offences on August 16 but none on previous dates.
He has no previous convictions.
Mr White said there was a lot of domestic violence in his client's background from his father towards his mother.
“Violence begets violence, regrettably,” said Mr White, adding that it's no excuse for this type of behaviour.
Counsel said jealousy played a “major role” in the offending, although it wasn't an excuse.
He said Curtis is unlikely to come before the court again and is still in a relationship with Ms Corrigan.
The court heard that Curtis has been in custody for these offences since August 19th last, apart from one month when he was released on bail.
Judge Orla Crowe ordered a probation report to be prepared to assess Curtis' suitability for several programmes including anger management.
She adjourned the case until July 13th for finalisation.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/, or visit Rape Crisis Help.
In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
