Dubliner (58) gets suspended sentence after punching woman in the face
A man who punched a woman in the face in a shop and ripped a chain from her boyfriend's neck in a 'psychotic episode' has been spared jail.
Ian Curley (58) struck and knocked the woman to the ground as she filmed him having a confrontation with her partner.
Judge Mark O'Connell gave him a three-month suspended sentence after he paid €3,000 compensation.
Ian Curley
News in 90 Seconds - Monday June 23
The accused, of Carrickhill Heights, Portmarnock, Dublin, pleaded guilty to assault and criminal damage at Spar, Dame Street, on October 21.
Dublin District Court heard the couple had come to the city for the weekend when Curley had an argument in the shop with the man and ripped a gold chain from his neck.
His girlfriend began filming Curley on her phone and he shouted at her and punched her in the face. The victims were unknown to the accused and the woman was uninjured but distraught. Curley also admitted resisting arrest after gardaí went to his home.
The accused suffered from bipolar disorder and on the day, he had come off medication and this combined with alcohol resulted in a psychotic episode, his lawyer said.
He did not intend to punch the woman, but to hit the phone and he 'inadvertently hit her'.
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