Man 'brutalised' his pregnant partner in front of children, judge says

By Eimear Dodd

A man who subjected his pregnant partner to a “horrific” assault also threatened to burn down her home in the presence of their nine-year-old child, a court has heard.

The 31-year-old Dublin man punched, kicked and bit the woman during the 20-minute assault, before leaving her on the floor in agony while he went to sleep.

The man pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and making a threat to kill the woman at her home on a date in July 2025. He cannot be named for legal reasons.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said she was the “victim of a violent assault” and that her ex-partner “left me black and blue”.

She said she had immediate concerns for the health of her baby. “He knew at the time I was pregnant while he kicked and punched me in the stomach”.

She said the man “left me lying in agony for hours”.

The woman said she has lost confidence in herself and trust in someone she thought would look after her. She outlined that she has experienced difficulties with addiction, but said she is now back on track.

An investigating garda told Jane Murphy BL, prosecuting, that gardaí arrived at the property around 12pm after receiving a call about an alleged assault.

The man told them he did not know why they were there or where his partner was, as he’d been asleep on the couch.

Gardaí found the woman, who was just over four months pregnant, in a parked car nearby with the children and a family support worker.

They observed blood, bruising and swelling on her face. She was distressed and was taken to hospital for treatment. The court was told the baby has since been born and appears to be doing well.

The woman told gardaí that the man woke up earlier that morning, looking for a cigarette while she was minding some of the children.

He then started screaming, shouting and abusing her, calling her a “tramp” and a “whore”.

The woman went out the back door to try to get away from him. The man went to the side gate of the house, having gone out the front door.

He told her, “You think you’re going to get away from me. I’m going to kill you”.

The woman tried to get back into the house through the back door, but a table had been shoved against it.

The man pushed her against the ground, shouting, “I’m going to kill you”.

He then punched her in the face and back of the head, then started to kick her multiple times in the right leg, arms and stomach. He also bit her on the shoulder during the assault.

He told her, “I’m going to kill you and the baby”, while kicking her in the stomach.

The woman tried to block the kicks to her stomach, then attempted to get up and run to the front of the house. He came after her, put his arms around her neck and choked her.

She thought she was going to stop breathing as it was so hard around her neck, the court heard.

He told the woman to say sorry, then repeated this after letting go of her. She asked him what she was saying sorry for.

He punched her again in the back of the head. The woman asked a neighbour to call gardaí, then managed to get into the house and lock the man out.

He managed to get inside through the back door, then threatened to burn down her home and those of her sister and parents.

He turned to their nine-year-old and said, “I’m going to leave you like ashes,” and named the family’s dog, which had been cremated a few weeks earlier.

The court was told the incident lasted around 20 minutes, but the woman was left on the floor for several hours afterwards while the man slept.

The woman’s family support worker arrived around 11 am on a prearranged visit. She contacted the gardaí and took the woman and the children out of the house.

The woman said the man had never done anything like this during the ten-year relationship. Photos of her injuries were handed to the court.

While he was being taken to a nearby garda station after arrest, the said: “Who is going to stand up in court? You’ll need a witness for this, this won’t go to court”.

The investigating garda said the man appeared to be smirking and joking while he said this.

When he arrived at the garda station, the man was deemed unfit for interview for a period. Nothing of evidential value was obtained when he was later interviewed.

He has been in custody since his arrest and has 98 previous convictions, including 42 for drug offences, 38 for road traffic offences, five for public order and two for criminal damage.

Judge Martina Baxter said the woman was “an impressive mother” who was clearly thinking of her children.

The judge noted the man “brutalised” the woman in the presence of their children.

The judge adjourned the case to December to allow for the preparation of a probation report, including a risk assessment of the man, updated urine analysis and a governor’s report.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information. 

Safe Ireland also offers a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.