'Pick a finger or a toe': Man (25) jailed for 'disturbing' ex-girlfriend attacks

Tom Tuite

A man has been jailed for two years for "disturbing" attacks on ex-girlfriends – one at knifepoint in a flat and the other a public, prolonged beating – after breaking a suspended sentence.

Judge Keenan Johnson activated a significant portion of Ben Curry's prison term for the two vicious incidents in Athlone.

He told Curry (25): "It is not empty words, when the court imposes suspended sentences and conditions; it is a contract the accused enters into and agrees to abide by."

Curry attacked and threatened a former partner, telling her he would "cut off her finger to stop her texting boys".

He also subjected a previous girlfriend to a vicious 40-minute assault in the Midlands town when she tried to end their brief relationship.

In April last year, Judge Johnson imposed consecutive sentences totalling seven years, backdated by 23 months when Curry first went into custody on remand. He suspended the remaining four years and nine months for five years. Curry was then released, subject to conditions.

But repeated breaches, such as failing to engage with the Probation Service and treatment with a forensic psychologist, led to the case being re-entered on Wednesday. He was held in custody overnight.

Resuming on Thursday, Judge Johnson said the court had tried its best to rehabilitate the accused, but it now had no option but to impose part of the sentence.

The remaining two years and nine months remain suspended for five years post-release.

Garda Sergeant Sandra Keane told Judge Johnson that charges are pending against the accused for an alleged aggressive public order incident in Galway.

The judge heard that he had obtained work a week ago on Inishmore, the Aran Islands.

A shop owner had provided him with a job and accommodation in a building with male and female staff.

Court-mandated checks

However, by Thursday, the employer changed his mind after learning of the accused's past from court-mandated checks by the Probation Service and gardaí, prompting him to do some "homework" on Curry.

A probation officer said he was at high risk of reoffending.

Curry explained that he became homeless, and he owned up to having been using alcohol, another breach.

Defence counsel Andrea Callan pleaded for a further opportunity to engage with a homeless agency in Galway. She submitted that it was unfortunate he had lost his job, which could have been an opportunity to show he had reached a turning point.

Judge Johnson recalled the huge efforts to give him a chance of rehabilitation, but said he had "thrown it back in its face". The accused showed no emotion as the case was finalised.

His sentence hearing last year was told that he consistently and positively engaged with the psychologist, whose report gave a graphic account of his "horrific" and traumatic childhood difficulties.

He had pleaded guilty earlier to assault causing harm and threatening to kill one victim at Gate Lodge Apartments, Willow Park, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, on New Year's Day 2023.

He also admitted to attacking and robbing the second young woman on May 22nd, 2023, at the rear of Athlone Town Shopping Centre.

Forensic psychiatric reports stated Curry, who had been placed into care at the age of four, had been diagnosed as having anger-management issues stemming from childhood abuse and abandonment.

He had gone off the rails when he was 20 and "couch surfing" at the time of the second attack on the young woman, who had taken him in.

The student was having a shower when he looked at her phone and allegedly saw that she had been texting an ex-boyfriend.

Hole in the wall

Curry ordered her out of the shower, punched a hole in the wall and caused €1,500 worth of damage. Curry "slapped her in the face, put his arm around her and lifted her off the floor".

He dropped her onto a bed and punched and slapped her in the face.

He then left, but returned holding a kitchen knife, and told her, "Pick a finger or a toe", as she was screaming.

"He held the blunt side of the knife to her face and said he would cut off her finger to stop her texting boys," the court heard.

When he calmed down, she managed to get out of the apartment. Photos of her injuries were shown to the court.

During the previous attack, Curry, who was on bail at the time, met the other young woman after she had already tried to tell him via Snapchat that she did not want to see him again.

Over 40 minutes, Curry pushed her onto the ground, head-butted, punched and kneed her in the face, and took her €900 iPhone. She was bleeding because "her piercings had been pulled from her ear", and she suffered swelling.

That victim was left with "constant fear", trust issues and "hated the way she looked after the assault".

Curry, who also had a prior address in Co Carlow, also admitted involvement in three violent disorder incidents in Longford and Athlone on other dates.

He had six prior convictions for drug possession, carrying a knife, trespassing, threat to kill or cause serious harm and production of an article in a dispute, and had previously received a two-year sentence.