No jail for TV trainer who beat his ex-partner
FORMER TV fitness instructor Francis Usanga has been ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service to avoid a fivemonth jail term for punching his ex-partner.
This sparked a strong reaction from the Women’s Aid charity, which said it was calling for domestic violence sentences to ‘reflect the severity of the crime’.
Mother-of-two Emma Murphy told a court she was struck in the face in front of their children when she confronted Usanga about cheating.
Following the attack, fitness blogger Ms Murphy made video about her ordeal which went viral online. She also appeared on ITV’s Loose Women.
Her video, in which she had a black eye, has been viewed more than 10million times.
She declined to comment to reporters after the case ended yesterday. However, Margaret Martin, director of Women’s Aid – the national charity supporting women and children affected by abuse – spoke out, saying: ‘For those women who do go through the lengthy criminal justice system, they can very often feel let down by lenient sentences.
‘The sentence should fit the crime, and short sentences and suspended sentences are unacceptable and can send a very dangerous message to women, to abusers and to society. We urgently call for sentences for domestic violence to reflect the severity of the crime and send a clear message to everyone that domestic abuse will not be tolerated and will be sanctioned properly.’
Usanga, who has appeared on RTÉ’s Today show as a fitness expert, had denied assault causing harm to Ms Murphy during a row at his former workplace, the FX Fitness gym in Santry in Dublin, on July 3, 2015. The 31year-old, of Lanesboro, Finglas, Dublin, was found guilty last month at Dublin District Court.
Judge Bryan Smyth did not accept his claim that he pushed her away because he was in fear of her, or the argument that this was justifiable force. During the trial, Ms Murphy said Usanga was the father of her two young children and that they had been in a relationship for three-and-ahalf years – which she described as ‘really bad, toxic’.
Yesterday, Judge Smyth was furnished with a revised victimimpact statement from Ms Murphy which was not read out in court. Legal issues arose two weeks ago in relation to a previous draft of her statement, which the defence said contained allegations that were ‘totally, utterly prejudicial and untrue’.
Defence solicitor Michael Hanahoe told the sentence hearing that ‘the injured party bypassed the court system and put out a version of events’, and that his client ‘has suffered greatly by that’. Usanga has been ‘reduced to going on a [Back To Work Enterprise Allowance] scheme through social welfare’ and now lives with his mother, he said.
Judge Smyth gave Usanga 100 hours of community service in lieu of a five-month sentence after a probation officer met with him during a recess yesterday and found he was suitable.
The Women’s Aid 24-hour National Freephone Helpline is 1800 341 900 or visit its website, womensaid.ie
IT is regrettable that the treatment of women in terms of harassment and sexual abuse has taken so long to become central to the public agenda. Accordingly, it is disappointing that a case of straightforward physical violence against a woman has resulted in an effective slap on the wrist for the offender.
This newspaper accepts that it is often difficult for judges in these cases. But anyone who has seen photographs of the injuries inflicted by Francis Usanga on his former partner will undoubtedly ask: what kind of message does this so-called sentence send out?