Man jailed for biting ex’s ear in sustained attack

A man who carried out a sustained violent attack on his ex-girlfriend during which he bit her ear has been sentenced to four years.

Robert Melia, aged 32, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Elizabeth Clifford, then 25, on June 29, 2012. Melia and the victim were in an on-off relationship at the time.

Garda Nollaig Meaney told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting that Melia called to Ms Clifford’s house at 1am. She allowed him to use the bathroom but asked him to leave because he had been drinking.