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A MAN who threatened to kill his son’s mother and set her apartment on fire in front of his three-year-old daughter has been jailed.
Chad Redmond (27) of Belclare Park, Ballymun, Dublin pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault and criminal damage on February 24, 2019 in an apartment in Finglas, North Dublin.
Garda Robert Diffney told Eoin Lawlor BL, prosecuting, that Redmond came to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and said he was there to see his son.
He started yelling and banging on the door before kicking it down. Redmond called his former partner a “rat” before grabbing her by the neck.
He dragged her into the bedroom where she was “thrown across the room,” the court heard. Redmond told her that he would “kill her and burn the place down.”
His little girl was screaming at this point and Redmond started trying to pull her away from her mother. He then grabbed the victim’s right hand and began to twist it.
Then the woman spoke into the intercom, pretending that she was letting the gardaí get up. Redmond fled but when he realized that the Gardaí were not there, he tried to re-enter.
He was out on bail at the time of the crime and was arrested the next day.
In a victim impact statement, the woman stated that she wanted to drop the charges as her main concern was taking care of her daughter. He said Redmond’s mother was terminally ill and did not want to add to her suffering.
Redmond has several prior convictions for theft, criminal mischief, public order, and traffic violations.
Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing BL, in defense, confirmed that Redmond had been under the influence of cocaine at the time of the incident. The court heard that the defendant’s father had passed away as a result of a terminal illness in 2018.
Judge Elma Sheahan described the events as “disturbing”, taking into account that it was a very young girl who witnessed the “assault by her father and a threat of death” to her mother.
He pointed out the seriousness of the events that took place in the child’s home, which is a place where the child should feel safe.
Judge Sheahan said the crime was compounded by the fact that the defendant was out on bail, has similar convictions, such as robbery, and the fact that it took place in the presence of a child.
She sentenced him to three and a half years, suspending the last nine months.
Online editors
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