Dad accused of slamming partner's head into wall and throwing baby ‘across room'
Tom Tuite
A father threw his infant across a room and “slammed” his partner's head into a wall in Dublin when she tried to protect the child, a court has heard.
The man, in his 30s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with assault causing harm to the woman and the baby over the weekend.
He appeared at Dublin District Court, where the prosecution consented to conditional bail of €1,000.
Garda Karol Piech alleged that the mother had settled the crying baby on a pillow beside her, and the accused came in late and drunk. It was said that he began hitting the baby with a pillow, which the woman tried to take from him.
The court heard claims that he "grabbed her by her head, slammed her head into the wall as she tried to remove the child".
It was alleged that he threw his baby across a room, and the infant hit a bed frame, suffering bruising. The court heard the man grabbed the woman and threw her down, and he proceeded to punch her in the face.
Garda Piech stated that the man then left the room and she locked it from the inside and escaped through a window, which gardaí later used to enter the property. The woman's mother had telephoned them to alert them about her daughter.
Another child was in the property and was removed.
The court heard the woman was terrified.
Flight risk
In response to the cited flight risk concerns, defence solicitor Michael Kelleher stressed that his client was in full-time employment, had lived in Ireland for several years, had children here, and was the family's breadwinner.
Questioning the garda, the solicitor established that there were no other witnesses, and the prosecution relied on the injured party.
The court heard that the man had never been arrested before. His solicitor argued that his client would abide by several conditions, after which the prosecution agreed to bail.
Mr Kelleher also pointed out that, in addition to the terms, the complainant had the added protection of a barring order, which she had just obtained.
Alarm
The alarm was raised by her mother, who called the local Garda station.
The bruised woman came to the hearing after first going to a family law court to obtain the barring order, but also said she had concerns about the man being in custody. She also said he was a good father but had an alcohol problem.
Judge Michele Finan noted the garda consented to bail and ordered the accused to lodge €1,000 before he can be released.
She said while he had the presumption of innocence, the involvement of a child was an exacerbating issue and warned him that there must be no hint of a breach of the numerous terms.
He was ordered to have no contact with the woman, that child access must be arranged through solicitors, to remain out of specific parts of the city, to surrender his passport, and to sign on three days a week at a garda station and to be contactable by phone.
The man, who has yet to enter a plea, was remanded in custody until posting bail and is set to appear again later this week.
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.
