Woman: I woke to find man’s hands on my throat

A young woman who fell asleep in a bedroom at a house party woke to find a man with his hands around her throat and was later threatened with a knife, it was alleged in court yesterday.

Jean Charbonnier of 7 Coppingers View, Pope’s Quay, Cork, is accused of assault causing harm on Julie Clermont, 24, at an apartment in Cork city.

Judge Leo Malone asked for an outline of the allegations in the case to see if he would accept jurisdiction to hear the case.

Inspector Ronan Kennelly said the case arose from an investigation of a complaint made in relation to alleged incidents after a house party in Cork on June 19.

The injured party was at a party in a friend’s apartment and fell asleep in a bedroom at around 2am.

“It is alleged that Jean Charbonnier entered the room and is alleged to have caught her around the throat and started squeezing.

“She was caught for breath and could not scream. She is unsure if she lost consciousness.

“Mr Charbonnier is alleged to have threatened the injured party with a knife before other party goers came in to the bedroom and broke up the incident.

“The injured party had bruising around her neck and was brought to Mercy University Hospital for treatment,” Insp Kennelly said.

Judge Leo Malone asked to see the medical report on the complainant. Insp Kennelly said the gardaí had requested a medical report and had told the hospital of the urgency of the matter.

However, so far the medical report had not been furnished.

Judge Malone said it would be important to ascertain if there had been any consequences for the injured party particularly given the allegation that there had been a loss of consciousness.

The judge said he would not accept jurisdiction in the absence of a medical report. The case was adjourned until December 21 to allow time for the medical report to be made available.