Dad is embraced by children that he had assaulted
TEARS flowed in Wexford Circuit Court as a father came face to face with the daughter and son he assaulted five years ago.
Details of a violent family life were given to Judge James McCourt by Garda Michael Fitzpatrick. The court learned that the drunken defendant twice hit his daughter around the head when she was 12 or 13. And she took a phone video, shown at the sentencing hearing, as he launched himself with kicks and punches on to her brother who is a year younger.
The defendant, described as a single father, lashed out on one occasion while travelling with the girl as a front seat passenger. He struck with such force that that she was left with a lump on her head described as half the size of a tennis ball.
On another occasion, he set about her with the handle of a mop, leaving her with marks on her legs and banging her head against a wall. The incident with the boy started with the accused throwing a pizza cutter at the child and finished with the adult jumping on the boy as he cowered on a sofa.
The assaults were notified to the gardaí after the girl made disclosures to a school guidance counsellor. Interviewed at the barracks in Enniscorthy the man made immediate admissions and acknowledged that he had been out of control.
He also said he was proud of his daughter for reporting what was going on.
Garda Fitzpatrick accepted that the defendant had been struggling to run the household despite some family support. The children were taken from him by court order and have never been returned.
Prosecution barrister Sinead Gleeson read out the victim impact statement prepared by the girl.
The statement detailed how she suffered from post-traumatic stress and body issues. She told how one attack was prompted by a row about a phone, and the second was sparked by her failure to find a pair of socks. She added that she remained haunted by the video of her dad jumping on to her brother.
The boy, now a teenager, came into the box and read his own prepared statement, in which he revealed that he had been prescribed medication for depression. And then he asked to speak to the judge without referring to his script.
The young man said that, since the incidents which led to the court case, his father had changed a lot. He had stopped drinking, was in contact with his family a lot more, and no longer prone to becoming angry.
The defendant was then called into the witness box by his counsel to give tearful testimony. The man, clearly emotional, told his offspring that he was so happy the days they were born and that he would always love them.
He said he was ashamed of what he did and that they had deserved better from him.
“This is a tragic case,” reflected Judge McCourt as he assessed the three assault charges and three guilty pleas. It appeared that alcohol was the prime driver of the abuse that took place in the family home. The court noted that the accused had not taken a drink for more than a year.
Three year sentences were handed down and then suspended after he gave a commitment to continue alcohol free. After the verdict the convicted father was hugged, first by his son and then by his daughter.