Judge says teenager ‘entitled to feel safe in own home’

A judge has reprimanded a Mullingar man who left his teenage son with a bloodied nose after slapping him in the face during an early morning incident in the family home.

The man, who cannot be named due to the domestic nature of the assault and to protect the identity of his son, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm at an address in Mullingar on May 12, 2024.

The accused, who is in his early 50s, entered that plea at a court sitting in January for the preparation of a probation report and victim impact statement.

A further charge that the man contravened an interim barring order the following January by telling his wife: “This is my house”, which “put her in fear” was also down for decision when the case returned before Mullingar District Court last week.

In defence, solicitor Louis Kiernan said the incident was linked to ongoing issues within the family home and emotions boiled over.

“It was the middle of the night and my client felt he was the only disciplinarian in the home,” said Mr Kiernan, adding that the man was a “hard worker”.

Mr Kiernan said the assault involved “one slap to the face” and despite the then 15-year-old being left bleeding, a statement taken from him had been “informative” in terms of its isolation.

He said that despite that and the marital issues that had followed, the man was enjoying regular access to his children.

Judge Bernadette Owens said the court had to weigh up a number of factors before passing sentence.

They included the man’s lack of any previous convictions and guilty plea which, she said, had spared his son from having to attend court and give sworn evidence.

She did, however, appear to question the way in which the man had met the case, saying that while Mr Kieran was fully “entitled to put forward submissions and (his) interpretation” of the instructions given to him by the man, they did not “accord” with the probation report before the court.

“This was a significant assault on his son, who is entitled to feel safe in his own home and not be assaulted by one of his parents,” she said.

The man was handed a five-month sentence, suspended for 12 months for the assault charge.

Judge Owens adjourned the subsequent section 33 domestic violence charge to a court sitting on May 21 for penalty.