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A jury convicted a man of coercive control, intimidation and multiple assaults on his ex-partner, following the first trial under the 2018 Domestic Violence Act.
The 52-year-old Dublin man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to one charge of his partner’s controlling or coercive behavior at various locations, including his home in Dublin, between January 1, 2019 and September 22, 2019.
He had also pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of assault causing harm to his partner, one count of assault, one count of danger, and one count of intimidation between May 2018 and January 2020.
On the 21st day of the trial, the jury returned guilty verdicts on charges of coercive control, intimidation, battery, and 12 counts of battery causing harm.
During the trial, the woman, now 43, testified to the jury via a video link and told the jury that she met the man through a mutual friend when she was looking for a place to live. She said they got together shortly before she moved into her apartment.
Pizza slicer
The woman told Kerida Naidoo SC, in the indictment, that “there was not a particularly pleasant start to the relationship.” She said that shortly after they got together, the man stubbed out the cigarette on her foot and burned it “for no reason.”
The woman alleged that the man broke her phone a day after he found her talking on her phone while waiting for him. On another occasion, she said that he cut her face and neck with a pizza slicer.
As the relationship progressed, the woman said they were together “all day every day.” “I couldn’t even walk through the stores on my own,” he said.
The court heard that the woman had been working for a company, but her six-month contract ended and she was on welfare while looking for work. He said the man took his welfare money every week. “By Tuesday night, I would not have five dollars,” he said.
She told the court that the man would answer his phone when it rang and that his friends eventually stopped calling. “Gradually, we completely cut ourselves off from friends and family,” he said.
The woman described a series of incidents, including the man threatening to drown her in a river, trampling her head and stomping on her arm, breaking it.
The woman said the man often dragged her across the apartment floor and beat her. “I had a black eye a couple of times a week,” he said.
She told the court that if the man had drunk alcohol, “the smallest, smallest thing would blow him up and it always, always turned into violence.” She agreed that she herself had a problem with alcohol that predated her relationship with the man.
The woman said she remembered a “bad day” in the summer of 2019, when the defendant made her sit naked on the sofa while he paced up and down calling her name.
“He said it was a disgrace, a waste of space,” he said before stressing that during the course of that day, he would return her to the sofa and make her sit naked again.
“He paced back and forth in front of me, stood over me, hovered over me, threatened me. He threatened to kill my family and force me to watch. At one point he said that he should have killed you while he had the chance, ”the woman continued.
She said he said “I’m willing to spend time with you.” He then told her that he would kill her father first, “slowly and painfully” and force her to watch, before moving on to his brother and son and then his other brother and baby.
“He said he would make me watch. He just wanted to make me suffer, ”the woman told the jury.
Shelters
During their relationship, the woman said she spent periods in Aid to Women shelters. After spending a night with another man at a hotel, she said the man telephoned all members of his family and told them he was an “unfaithful tramp.”
She said that after the man broke her arm, hospital staff alerted Gardaí and she gave them a statement.
The court later heard that the man told the woman that he would circulate nude images and videos of her on the Internet and send them to her family if she did not drop the accusations against her.
“I was very distressed about that,” the woman said.
The jury deliberated for just under 15 hours before issuing verdicts on all charges.
The jury acquitted the man of a battery causing injury charge related to an incident in which he allegedly pushed his ex-partner down the stairs. The jury also cleared him of a single count of danger related to a charge that he had pushed and lifted the woman towards the railing of a bridge, creating a substantial risk of death or harm to her.
Judge Elma Sheahan thanked the jury for their time and consideration. He said he wanted to acknowledge their commitment to the trial and the commitment they have had to him.
He left the man in continuous custody and postponed the matter until Thursday, when he will set a sentencing date.
Courage
Speaking afterwards outside the Dubin Criminal Courts of Justice building, Chief Superintendent Finbar Murphy urged victims of abuse or control in a relationship to come forward and said they will receive full support.
“You don’t have to put up with this behavior,” he said.
He congratulated the victim in this case for his bravery and courage in taking the case and telling his story to court the way he did.
“She is a beacon of hope for many people who are in a similar situation and it is something that they will draw a lot of courage from themselves by hearing her story.
“In relation to any person who has found himself in a similar situation, if he is the victim of coercive control, if he is the object of abuse or aggression and if he has a homosexual or heterosexual relationship, whether he is married or a partner, whether young or higher, you do not have to tolerate this behavior.
“It is illegal, it is criminal, if you come to the Garda station and tell your story you will receive a comprehensive audience but you will also receive a very professional service from us and we will connect you with other professional services that will help you through this process and give you back. his life.
And remember that none of this is your fault. This is the fault of the person who is committing the crimes against you.
“If you come to us and tell your story, we guarantee that we will give you our full support and take these matters to court.”
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