Courts / Cork / Report
Suspended sentence for man who attacked and threatened to kill wife "too lenient", court finds
Summary
The Court of Appeal found a 44‑year‑old man's wholly suspended three‑year sentence too lenient and sentenced him to 18 months in jail. He had pleaded guilty in 2012 to assaulting his wife and in 2015 to five counts of threatening to kill her and each of their four children. The judge described the 2015 threats as a "truly awful offence" and noted the man's history of mental health problems. The Court of Appeal imposed a three‑year custodial term with the final 18 months suspended, a 12‑month concurrent term for the 2012 assault, and required the man to enter a good‑behaviour bond, maintain contact with mental health services and have no contact with his wife or children for three years unless invited. The sentence was imposed on Friday afternoon.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Suspended sentence for man who attacked and threatened to kill wife "too lenient", court finds. Charges or matters: assaulting his wife, causing her harm, in October 2012 and five separate counts of threatening to kill her and each of their four children at their rural Cork home on October 1, 2015. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- October 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
- October 1, 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
- July 28, 2017 Hearing Or Sentence
- October 2015 Incident
- 2018-06-01 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: assaulting his wife, causing her harm, in October 2012 and five separate counts of threatening to kill her and each of their four children at their rural Cork home on October 1, 2015 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: A man who assaulted his wife and threatened to kill her and their four children has been sent to jail after the Court of Appeal found his wholly suspended sentence too lenient. However, conscious of the fact that time had moved on and that the court was sentencing somebody who felt they had "escaped" a sentence, the court imposed a sentence of three years imprisonment with final 18 months suspended.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Cork
- Cork Circuit Criminal Court
- Circuit Court. The Circuit Court
Topics
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