Produced knife in dispute with wife

A MAN who assaulted his stepson and produced a knife during a dispute with his wife – during their “dysfunctional”, short-lived marriage – has been given a suspended sentence.

The 62-year-old man, who can’t be named to protect the identity of the victims, was found guilty by a Central Criminal Court jury last month of assault causing harm; assault; and producing a knife in the course of a dispute. He was acquitted of more serious charges, including rape and coercive control.

The offences took place in the family home in Kerry in May 2020 and during the summer of 2019, the court heard.

A local detective garda told John Byrne SC, prosecuting, that the couple met online in 2018 and married shortly afterwards, with the woman and a number of her children moving in to the man’s house.

The court heard that, shortly after they married, the relationship soured and quickly became dysfunctional and volatile, with both parties abusing alcohol regularly.

In the first incident involving the production of a knife, the court heard that, during an argument, the man picked up a large kitchen knife and moved towards his wife. His teenage stepson intervened and took the knife out of the man’s hand, with the man offering no resistance.

In the second incident in May 2020, the court heard the teenage stepson was in the sitting room with headphones on, watching YouTube videos and laughing. The man came into the room and berated the boy for making noise before grabbing him by his top and “manhandling” him.

When the wife intervened, he punched her to the face, the court heard. The man left the sitting room and went outside to call gardaí, the court heard. During the course of their relationship, he made complaints about the woman’s conduct to his solicitor and gardaí.

Following this incident, the woman and her children moved to a refuge for a number of days. The couple are now divorced, and the man was out of his house for a couple of years until family law proceedings were dealt with, the court heard.

The woman has since remarried and the man is in a new relationship. Brendan Grehan SC, defending, said the man has no previous convictions except for one road-traffic matter. He has not come to adverse garda attention since this offending four years ago.

In her victim-impact statement, which was read out in court by counsel, the woman said she suffered depression, anxiety and sleeplessness as a result of the offending. She said she felt great guilt for bringing her children into the situation.

In his victim-impact statement, the boy said that while he did not suffer physical injuries in the wake of the incident, “mentally he destroyed me”. He said he struggled to understand how a grown man could hurt him, particularly when he had done nothing wrong.

Sentencing the man on Tuesday, Mr Justice Paul Burns said it was clear the relationship between the man and woman was one of “dysfunction” and “volatility”.

He noted that while the man also complained about the woman’s conduct and the trial was shown footage of her offering to fight the man, it was he who was found guilty of offences.

He noted he manhandled his teenage stepson in an “aggressive and threatening manner”, at a time when he was in loco parentis.

He took into account a number of mitigating factors, including the man’s age, his lack of previous convictions and his good work history.

He handed down a sentence of one year and suspended it on a number of conditions, including that the man have no contact with his ex-wife and her son and that he complete a domestic violence course.