Man tried to cut out tattoo with his initials from ex-girlfriend's buttock with Stanley knife
That was the evidence from Detective Garda Linda Lyons at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in the case against the 37-year-old man.
After the attack, he fled the country and did not return for 10 years, mistakenly believing that by staying away for this period of time the State would be prevented from prosecuting him because of the delay.
Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated burglary on August 21, 2013, at his ex-partner's home, specifically trespassing while armed with a weapon of offence, namely a Stanley blade.
Det Garda Lyons said on that day, the young woman was in and out of her house putting her two very young children into their car seats and was about to go shopping.
She had split up from her partner some time before this date and had a tattoo with his initials on her left buttock.
The defendant arrived at her home unannounced and said to her: 'I will get off that tattoo.' He produced the Stanley knife and stabbed her multiple times in the buttock through her clothing, leaving her badly scarred and bleeding.
After the attack, he went over to the children in the car, kissed them, said goodbye and left the area.
Judge Helen Boyle made an order preventing identification of the parties in the case because of the involvement with children during the incident and their right to anonymity under the Children's Act.
Setting a headline sentence, Judge Boyle said it lay in the mid-range of such offences and a headline sentence of five years was appropriate.
On the basis of the defendant's diagnosed condition of psychosis, that term was reduced to three years at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
The judge said the plea of guilty was a very significant matter in a case like this, which saved the victim the trauma of giving evidence and saved the State the time and expense of a trial. For that reason, the sentence was further reduced to three years.
The final matter taken into consideration by the judge was the good prospect of the defendant rehabilitating, and said she would suspend the last year of the three-year term.
Judge Boyle said on his release from prison, the defendant should undertake any course directed by the probation service, for instance a programme such as Men Overcoming Violent Emotions.
Defence senior counsel Tom Creed said the accused had already spent 78 days on remand in custody on this matter and he should be given credit for that period. The judge so directed and told the accused he would be under the direction of the probation service for one year following the completion of his sentence.
The victim was in her early 20s at the time of the knife attack. Det Garda Lyons said the injured party had moved on and was doing very well in her life now.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Taoiseach says Government determined to make religious orders pay compensation over abuse in schools
He made the pledge a day after Education Minister Helen McEntee set up a new Commission of Investigation - this time into sexual abuse in secondary schools, both lay and religious. It follows a scoping inquiry which heard 2,395 allegations of historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools run by religious orders, involving 884 alleged abusers in 308 schools across all areas of the country. Micheál Martin said accounting and structuring issues - which often put assets, cash and property beyond reach - are being examined "in considerable detail'. The Attorney General is also scrutinising legal levers, "with a view to enabling Government to have the powers ultimately to deal with those particular mechanisms," he said. These could be used "to make sure that we can ensure that financial capacity is retained in the country and made available to provide compensation," Mr Martin said, answering Labour leader Ivana Bacik. In the late 1990s, the State had amended the Statute of Limitations on a related issue, "but more is needed, and hat's acknowledged," he said. "Some of the accounts in the scoping inquiry were quite horrific, but many survivors ere very clear that they wanted those who were responsible to be accountable and to contribute,' he said. Ms Bacik said religious orders had for years been carrying out "a perfectly legal practice of transferring their assets and their property'. She said it was "the developer's wife syndrome", that puts assets out of reach, "and it's not acceptable." As of last September, religious orders have paid only 16pc of institutional redress costs that were owed, she said. ADVERTISEMENT "We know the money is there. Religious orders involved in historic abuse, sold more than 75 properties worth a total of over €90 million since 2016,' Ms Bacik said. "We know these orders and their associated trusts own vast quantities of property and assets around the State." Ms McEntee has meanwhile pledged that the new schools sex abuse inquiry will not involve endless extensions and runaway costs. "I do believe we are learning," the Minister said, when asked about the Farrelly report into the Grace case, which is set to top a taxpayer cost of €20 million and which ran to eight years with repeated extensions - only to deliver a report of 2,000 pages, with no executive summary, as Minister Norma Foley had requested. Ms McEntee claimed that religious orders would contribute to the vital element of redress - despite the failure of religious orders to live up to their responsibilities for a quarter of a century now. She offered no ceiling for compensation payments, or any minimums for church contributions, but said the Government would be looking to identify assets held by religious organisations. The minister was vague, however, about forcing redress, declining to refer to sequestration or seizure of assets - which the Attorney General has been asked to study by Ms Foley. She said only that the Attorney General had been involved in drawing up the terms of reference and guidance - which sets a limit of five years for the project, with a requirement for an interim report after two years. Mr Justice Michael McGrath will chair the commission. Ms McEntee said she wanted to thank every single survivor for their bravery in coming forward, acknowledging the late Mark Ryan and his brother David, "who were absolutely instrumental." The findings of the scoping inquiry were "nothing short of devastating," she said. "What is clear is that survivors want accountability. "They deserve accountability, and that is why I am announcing the establishment of a Commission for Investigation." The inquiry will begin this work "in the coming months," she said, beginning with a survey of survivors that will be oriented towards their needs. The chair will be assisted by two commissioners who will look at the handling of sex abuse claims in both religious and State schools, while engaging with survivors. The latter taking of evidence will be "anonymised, non-adversaral and with no cross-examiniation," the Minister insisted, adding that it would involve a sampling approach. The terms of reference were set out "to ensure that we do not go over time", she said, but the redress would be a "significant amount," she said. Ms McEntee added: "We are talking in the tens of millions."
Sunday World
5 hours ago
- Sunday World
Unemployed father-of-four jailed for €60k suspected crime proceeds and benefits fraud
Stefan Muntean was handed a three-year sentence by Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court An unemployed father of four who could not explain almost €60,000 lodged into his accounts over four months and was receiving six other people's Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has been jailed. Stefan Muntean, a Romanian national with an address at Meadowbrook, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, was handed a three-year sentence by Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court. The 39-year-old, who was on social welfare, pleaded guilty to money laundering using his account in his local credit union and the finance app Revolut, and welfare fraud in 2022. The investigation was triggered when the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau's financial intelligence unit became aware of suspicious transactions. Athlone based Detective Garda Kenneth Nerney from July 1 to October 24, 2022, Muntean had €48,752 put through his Revolut account. The source of these funds could not be identified, with Muntean telling officers that unnamed friends or relatives transferred some money to him. Unexplained cash lodgements to his credit union account came to about €11,000 from May 18 to November 25, 2022. Detective Garda James Martin stated that the probe identified six PPS numbers of individuals not residing in Ireland at the time but who were receiving PUP support, totalling €16,786, and which was also paid into Muntean's credit union account. The PUP was a temporary social welfare payment for employees and self-employed individuals who were out of work due to COVID-19. Judge Johnson described them as serious offences that were a fraud on the State Over that time, he spent €90,000 in an online casino and withdrew €68,622 from his gambling account. Muntean, with prior convictions for theft and trespass, had been entitled to a carer's allowance to look after his father and had worked intermittently. Gardaí accepted he had no display of wealth, the court heard. Desmond Dockery SC, defending, said his client was admitting he was reckless in allowing his account to be used for the pandemic payments. Stefan Muntean Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 9th In a plea for leniency, the defence said Muntean, who came to Ireland almost 20 years ago, was a member of the Roma community who suffered with health issues, had a gambling habit, and now lives in squalor and was estranged from his family. The accused, who listened to the proceedings with the aid of an interpreter, did not address the court. Passing sentence, Judge Johnson said the money laundering offence attracted a headline prison term of seven years. Taking into account his guilty plea and the mitigation, he reduced it to five years and six months. However, he suspended two and a half years on condition that Muntean did not reoffend for five years. A concurrent two-year term was imposed for the PUP fraud.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Man with an unexplained €60k in his account jailed for receiving six other people's covid benefits
An unemployed father of four who could not explain almost €60,000 lodged into his accounts over four months and was receiving six other people's Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has been jailed. Stefan Muntean, a Romanian national with an address at Meadowbrook, Athlone, Co Westmeath, was handed a three-year sentence by Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court. The 39-year-old, who was on social welfare, pleaded guilty to money laundering using his account in his local credit union and the finance app Revolut, and welfare fraud in 2022. The investigation was triggered when the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau's financial intelligence unit became aware of suspicious transactions. Athlone-based Detective Garda Kenneth Nerney said that from July 1 to October 24, 2022, Muntean had €48,752 put through his Revolut account. The source of these funds could not be identified, with Muntean telling officers that unnamed friends or relatives transferred some money to him. Unexplained cash lodgements to his credit union account came to about €11,000 from May 18 to November 25, 2022. Detective Garda James Martin stated that the probe identified six PPS numbers of individuals not residing in Ireland at the time but who were receiving PUP support, totalling €16,786, and which was also paid into Muntean's credit union account. The PUP was a temporary social welfare payment for employees and self-employed individuals who were out of work due to covid-19. Judge Johnson described them as serious offences that were a fraud on the State. Over that time, he spent €90,000 in an online casino and withdrew €68,622 from his gambling account. Muntean, with prior convictions for theft and trespass, had been entitled to a carer's allowance to look after his father and had worked intermittently. Gardaí accepted he had no display of wealth, the court heard. Desmond Dockery SC, defending, said his client was admitting he was reckless in allowing his account to be used for the pandemic payments. In a plea for leniency, the defence said Muntean, who came to Ireland almost 20 years ago, was a member of the Roma community who suffered with health issues, had a gambling habit, now lives in squalor and was estranged from his family. The accused, who listened to the proceedings with the aid of an interpreter, did not address the court. Passing sentence, Judge Johnson said the money laundering offence attracted a headline prison term of seven years. Taking into account his guilty plea and the mitigation, he reduced it to five years and six months. However, he suspended two and a half years on condition that Muntean did not re-offend for five years. A concurrent two-year term was imposed for the PUP fraud.
