Man given suspended sentence after breaking partner’s jaw

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A 50-year-old man received a fully suspended sentence after kicking his partner in the face and breaking her jaw while she held their toddler. He cannot be named for legal reasons. The proceedings were reported on 4 November 2024.

He pleaded guilty to common assault. He had initially been charged with assault causing harm, but the plea to the lesser offence was acceptable to the Director of Public Prosecutions. He travelled from his home in continental Europe to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to face the charge on 4 November 2024.

The court heard that the attack took place at the couple’s home on 10 September 2010. The woman was sitting on a couch holding their two-year-old child when an argument began and the man kicked her in the right side of the face. After putting the child to bed, she went to hospital, where she required surgery for a broken jaw.

She reported the attack to gardaí in 2021, and the man was arrested at Dublin Airport in 2022. A safety order was in place. The court heard that he had no other convictions and had offered her €2,000, which she did not wish to accept.

Judge Orla Crowe said the woman’s relationship to the man and the fact that she was holding their child were aggravating factors. She noted that he had never apologised, but had returned to Ireland and engaged with the process.

The judge imposed three months and two weeks in prison, suspended in full. She ordered €500 to be paid to the woman for medical costs and gave her 30 days to decide whether to accept the remainder of the €2,000. If she declined it, the remainder was to be paid to a woman’s refuge.