Man gets suspended jail term for 'sinister and appalling' crime
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court
A man who threatened to put his ex-partner’s young children “in a white box" has received a suspended jail sentence.
Patrick Moran, aged 36, of Oak Mill, Balla, pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to a charge of making threats to kill or cause serious harm.
The court was told that on October 5, 2022, the defendant's former partner returned to her home in Castlebar after collecting her four-year-old and three-year-old children from creche. She closed her front door but left it unlocked and when she returned to her hallway was shocked to find a hooded man who had his face partially covered with a bandana.
The victim shouted at the man to get out but he refused and as he pulled the bandana down she recognised his eyes and knew it was Moran. She walked toward him and as she did so he did the same before grabbing her by the throat and pushing her against the hob. The victim said her three-year-old daughter was nearby.
The young mother later told Gardaí that Moran said “I told you I would be back” and threatened to put her kids “in a white box”. He took house keys, car keys and her clock card for work as he left the house. She screamed for help and the defendant told her to shut up. She struggled with him to get her keys back and cut her finger before he threw them back at her.
After the matter was reported to Gardaí, Moran arranged to meet with officers and made certain admissions. He told them he was wearing a face covering at the house because he had a cough.
In a statement that was read out in court, the victim said she would never forget the “sinister look” Moran gave her daughter as he grabbed the victim's throat. The injured party said she made her children sleep with her for months after the incident.
“I felt like I failed to protect my children on that day,” she said, adding that she will forever be looking over her shoulder and that her son still talks about the “man in the mask” who threatened to put him and his sister in a box.
Moran has two previous convictions. He was in a relatively brief relationship with the victim and could not understand why it ended. The relationship ended two years before the incident. He is now in a new relationship.
The court heard that during his initial engagement with the Probation Service, Moran struggled to take responsibility for his actions but he now fully accepts the gravity of his behaviour. He has completed the MOVE (Men Overcoming Violent Emotions) programme to a high standard and continues to attend counselling.
Judge Eoin Garavan said described the incident as "appalling, sinister, and threatening", adding it was pre-planned and an “appalling misjudgement” by Moran.
Judge Garavan noted the defendant’s early plea and his completion of the MOVE programme.
Moran was prepared to offer €5,000 in compensation to his victim. If she declines it, the money will go to a local women’s refuge.
The judge imposed a two-year suspended jail sentence.
