Woman tells Carlow court of night of terror at hands of former partner
Carlow Courthouse Photo: Michael O'Rourke
A WOMAN told Carlow District Court that she was left bleeding heavily from a head wound and denied medical help after her former partner kicked in a toilet door during a violent incident at their shared home.
The case, which was heard , involved charges of section 3 assault and section 2 sexual assault against the man, who was present in court along with the injured party, both of whom required a Portuguese interpreter throughout the proceedings.
The court heard that the injured party had requested the matter be dealt with that day, as continuing legal proceedings were taking a psychological toll on her.
The couple had been in a relationship but were no longer together at the time of the incident. However, the injured party told the court she was still living at the same address and sleeping on a mattress in the same room while she looked for alternative accommodation. She is no longer living there.
She told the court that on the night of the incident, the accused arrived home at around 2.30am under the influence of alcohol. “People with him said he was drinking since morning time,” she said.
She described him as “very crazy and very aggressive” and said he began switching on the television and an Alexa device before running his hands over her body.
“I started to wrestle with him because he lay on top of me. I had to use my hands and feet to get him off from on top of me,” she said.
“He was trying to kiss me around my neck. He didn’t touch anywhere else.” She said she had not wanted him to kiss her.
The witness told the court that the incident was brief, but that the rest of the night brought further distress. She waited until the accused fell asleep before switching off the television and Alexa device. She then went to turn off his phone, but he woke as she held it and, fearing his reaction, she ran to the toilet.
“He kicked the door about ten kicks. The door broke and it injured my face,” she said. “He opened the door and noticed I was bleeding. There was a lot of blood.” She said she felt he showed no concern for her injury. “I felt he didn’t feel my pain; he wasn’t moved by the scene.”
The injured party said the accused then locked her in the toilet and attempted to dissuade her from reporting what had happened, while she tried to summon help due to the extent of her bleeding. She remained there for a prolonged period.
“I ran into the street and someone saw me covered in blood. People called the gardaí when they saw me covered in blood,” she said.
She also told the court that when she had refused to have sexual relations with him, he had switched on all the devices for the night.
Regarding the alleged sexual assault, she said: “When he kissed me on the neck, I was trying all the time to get away from him. In fact, I believe he told the gardaí he had scratch marks on his neck from me pushing him away.”
Defence solicitor Joe Farrell told the court that his client was entering a guilty plea to the section 3 assault but was not pleading guilty to the sexual assault charge.
Mr Farrell conveyed an apology from the accused to the injured party. “He is asking me to apologise to you for what happened that night and the injury you received and how he behaved that night,” he said.
The solicitor put it to the injured party that the injury had been caused by the door itself rather than by the kicking. She disagreed. “What was more serious is him denying me medical help,” she added.
Garda Doyle, who responded to a call that a female had been assaulted, told the court the injured party was “standing at the roadside, physically upset, with a wound on her head”. He said the accused had separately attended a garda station, where he subsequently spoke with him.
Garda Doyle said the injured party returned to the station after receiving medical treatment – three stitches above her eye – at which point she made an allegation of sexual assault. She told gardaí the accused had held her hands over her head, kissed her neck and touched her in a way that made her uncomfortable and upset. She said he had touched her bottom and private parts without her consent.
A statement from the accused was read to the court in which he denied touching her, saying he had only touched her shoulder, and stated: “Her body has no marks, just her head.” He said any contact would only have occurred with her consent.
When it was put to him that it was alleged he had slapped and touched her inappropriately, he replied: “I didn’t touch her, I swear to God.”
Mr Farrell noted discrepancies between the evidence given in court and the injured party’s original statement to gardaí, which Garda Doyle agreed were present.
Judge Geraldine Carthy said there was evidence that could not be challenged. She noted a medical report from A&E at St Luke’s Hospital, completed by the consultant who attended on the night, which recorded that, according to the injured party, the accused had forced himself onto her, but that she had “managed to fight him off” and that he had not sexually assaulted her.
“Therefore, the court could never convict the accused of sexual assault,” said the judge. “I will dismiss section 2 and apply a conviction to section 3.”
Judge Carthy directed that a probation report be prepared and indicated that a victim impact statement would be offered to the injured party should she wish to provide one. The matter will be finalised in May.
