Midlands man showed 'zero remorse' after sharing ex's intimate images, court hears

Tom Tuite

A Midlands man showed "zero remorse" after sharing intimate images of his ex-girlfriend on social media and with her family following years of harrowing assaults and controlling behaviour, a court heard.

Judge Keenan Johnson remarked that the evidence had left him "speechless" after he described it as the worst domestic violence case he had seen.

It emerged in the hearing at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court that the young woman felt compelled to have an abortion after he threatened to "kick the child out of you".

She thought they were in love, but afterwards, she could see he was manipulating and using her. In her victim impact statement, the woman depicted the relationship, which began when she was in her teens, as a nightmare and "mental torture".

For five years, he controlled her movements and who she spoke to during a "physically, emotionally and mentally abusive" relationship, the court heard.

She stated she was no longer under his control and was now a different person with the courage to speak up. However, she has PTSD, suffered long-term physical injuries and has been left with trust issues.

She was convinced he would kill her in the repeated attacks; during one, he made a death threat that "she would be leaving in a body bag" if she spoke out.

Judge Johnson heard that she remains in fear of the day he will be released. He has been in custody on remand since last year; the sentence hearing resumes next week.

The man, in his mid-20s and not named to protect the complainant's anonymity, pleaded guilty to two offences: assault causing harm and publishing intimate images of her while staying in a hotel in February 2025.

The court had heard that he had been in the throes of heavy cocaine and ketamine addiction.

He entered guilty pleas to nine more charges on a second indictment. They involved five incidents of assault causing harm to the same complainant, mainly at his home address, causing criminal damage to her phone, threatening to kill or cause her serious harm, on dates in 2022, 2023, 2024, and in early 2025.

The accused has no prior convictions and showed no emotion as the evidence was heard in court, and photos of the injuries he inflicted on his ex-partner were displayed.

He also split her head twice in one assault, requiring 16 staples, and left her with horrific facial bruising.

Detective Garda Darren Kerins agreed with Cathal Ó Braonáin BL, instructed by State solicitor Matt Shaw, that the woman reported that the accused would not let her meet anyone and verbally abused her if she gained weight, or "blow up and attack her" while on drugs.

The court heard he constantly checked her phones and regularly smashed them; she had to delete the call logs so he would not know she was contacting family or friends, and she was terrified for her life.

She detailed to gardaí that her ex-partner had "a different laugh when he did something cruel; that laugh would scare her, and she would know something bad was coming".

The court heard that the accused had a debt and was in danger and had to leave home, spending a few days in a hotel room in Dún Laoghaire, Dublin.

The man demanded she give him her social welfare payment for drugs, and he was delivered tablets, ketamine and cocaine. He began pacing up and down, dribbling.

When she fell asleep, he looked at her phone and saw that several males had liked her Instagram stories. She woke and felt him hitting her legs and shoulders. The accused screamed, "What the fuck is this on that phone?" and put his hand around her neck, calling her a slut.

The court heard that he grabbed her by her ponytail and flung her down, punching her and smashing a hair dryer into her head and face as she pleaded for her life.

The hair dryer shattered due to the force of the blows. He then ripped the top of a wooden coffee table and smashed it into her face three or four times; her nose cracked, and she bled heavily.

He told her that he didn't care if he killed her because he'd be happier going to prison and getting drugs there.

She had a few pictures and videos of herself naked, and after she had given herself a tanning treatment. The court heard that the accused posted them to her social media accounts and sent them by WhatsApp to her parents, a 13-year-old relative, and a grandmother.

She was dizzy and crawling on the floor, but he struck her again, grabbed her ponytail and dragged her while hitting her with his knuckles.

He disconnected the hotel room phone and her mobile phone, cutting off all communication. The attacks continued throughout the night, and she blacked out, but he later told her to clean herself up.

Detective Garda Kerins said the accused, during his interview, showed "no remorse, no co-operation, no anything" and tried to claim bloodstains in the badly damaged hotel room were because "she must have been on her period".

Detective Garda Kerins then outlined a series of violent incidents over the previous four years, including one ketamine-fuelled rage where the accused told her she would be leaving their home in a body bag.

Another time, he grabbed her neck, began choking her, and as she struggled to breathe, told him that "I could kill you right now if I want to."

Once, she had to jump out a window when gardaí turned up, and another time, he chased and sprayed her with bleach and kicked her face and hands. He slammed a door into her face because she did not answer him fast enough.

She got a job, and he drove her to work, but would sit in his car outside for her entire shift, watching her.

A few years into the relationship, she became pregnant, but he told her that he did not want the baby because he had so many drug debts. He demanded she have an abortion, and she felt she had to due to these threats.

When one of their dogs escaped, he punched her in the jaw six or seven times, and she was in pain.

He blamed her choice of route, which led to him driving into a ditch on a narrow country road, and later punched her three times in the face. He brought her to the hospital and ordered her to tell the medical staff that the wounds were from the crash. He would not wait, and she was made to sign herself out.

Detective Garda Kerins added that gardaí had gone to the crash scene and observed that she did not have facial injuries at that time.

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. 

Safe Ireland also offers a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112. 

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