DPP to appeal Pearse McAuley's 12-year sentence for attacking estranged wife

The Director of Public Prosecutions will argue before the Court of Appeal in November that a 12-year prison sentence imposed on a man for attacking his estranged wife was "unduly lenient". Pearse McAuley, aged 50 and resident in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, pleaded guilty to serious assault and false imprisonment of his estranged wife, along with related offences committed at their former home in Kilnaleck on Christmas Eve 2014. He was sentenced at Cavan Circuit Criminal Court in December 2015 to 12 years imprisonment, with the final four years suspended. The DPP seeks a review of the sentence on grounds of undue leniency. Mr Justice George Birmingham set November 7 as the hearing date during case management procedures at the Court of Appeal. McAuley was not present for the procedural matter.