A “pillar of his community” who “egged on” a group of women who physically assaulted his wife at the Four Courts has avoided jail after breaching a safety order by his presence at the hearing.
The man, who cannot be named due to the domestic nature of the order, and to protect the victim’s identity, appeared before Judge Orla Crowe at the Circuit Criminal Court this afternoon.
The court heard that the assault on the man’s now former wife came about in circumstances where she was required to attend a hearing at the High Court in 2019, which attracted about 10-15 people who then became involved in an assault on her.
Garda Michael McGrath of the Bridewell station agreed with prosecuting counsel, Eimear Delargy BL, that the assault took place after the injured party informed her solicitor and barrister that the accused was present in the courtroom, in breach of the order which had been in place for approximately a year at that stage.
After the woman was advised to exit the court by her representatives, her counsel said that he felt a push to his back before he witnessed a group of women assaulting his client.
The court heard that while women physically assaulted the victim, three to five men filmed the incident and that shouts of, “Choke her, don’t release her”, and, “Get her, kill her. If you kill her, you’ll only be in prison for three years,” could be heard, although the accused claims that none of this came from him.
The court heard that one of the attackers “put their hand into her mouth and was pulling at her cheek.”
Garda McGrath agreed with Ms Delargy that he broke up the fight and that the accused had pointed to where the unrest was taking place when security arrived.
Ms Delargy said that the accused was present and was “shouting and encouraging the incident,” although he did not make physical contact with his wife.
After the group was broken up, the injured woman was taken to the judge’s car park and was “very upset and distressed” with cuts on her face and mouth.
Defending counsel, Keith Spencer BL, argued that his client has no previous convictions and came to Ireland as an asylum seeker from Nigeria before becoming an Irish citizen some years later.
He said that his client is not working and “suffers from anxiety”. He pleaded with the court to consider imposing section 100 of the Probation Act, to allow him to avoid a conviction. The man has also not come to adverse Garda attention since the incident.
Having heard the facts, Judge Crowe said that the accused had committed a “deliberate contravention of a court order which was obtained a year prior”, which was “not something that can be dealt with by Section 100.”
She said that the case contained a “very unusual set of circumstances” and that the accused “had no business” being at the court hearing.
The court said that when “matters became violent”, the accused was “encouraging them on” and “encouraging the incidence of violent disorder,” which was a matter of “some seriousness”.
She said that the incident was a “very unedifying spectacle”, which “absolutely should not have happened”, particularly in the setting of the Four Courts.
Ms Delargy advised the court that the maximum sentence for breaching a safety order is 12 months in jail, before the court set a headline sentence of nine months, before reducing this to six months, which was suspended for 12 months on condition of good behaviour and a cashless bond.