Cork man denies assaulting girlfriend

A young woman was caught by the throat and punched twice in the eye by her boyfriend and later that night she called to his home and got into bed with him, it emerged yesterday during a trial.

Christopher Hurley, aged 23, of 3 Brocklesby St, Cork, denied a charge of assault causing harm to Selina Lonergan, aged 20, in the early hours of July 14 2015. Judge Marie Keane convicted him after a trial at Cork District Court yesterday.

The judge said Hurley’s evidence was entirely self-serving and incredible in the extreme.

“The injured party is quite a young person but highly immature about her attitude to violence. It is quite disturbing she returned to the house of the accused and was sleeping in the same bed as the accused for a period of time (after the assault). She said she did not want to say it to her parents. That shows her lack of maturity,” said Judge Keane.

She said it was also deeply concerning that the accused had such a lack of insight into his vicious assault on his girlfriend. Judge Keane said he could do 200 hours of community service instead of four months in jail. Insp Finbarr O’Sullivan said the accused had previous convictions but none for assault.

Selina Lonergan said she and her ex-boyfriend, Hurley, were at a house party for his sister. She said Hurley got into an argument with his sister after a few hours and he stormed out the door and she followed him.

Later on the street she said he “hit me twice in the eye and grabbed me by the throat”. She said he smashed her phone on the ground. “I smashed his phone too. He smashed my phone so obviously in a temper I got his and smashed it.”

Hurley said to Garda Paula Sidley: “The relationship was straining. She is an obsessive type. Selina started getting drunk and messy. Walking up the road making stupid comments. We were arguing. She was clawing at me. She smashed my phone. Just as I get in the door she said a young one attacked her. She stayed here the night. She is very volatile. I have defused a lot of arguments she has got into.”

In a second interview he said: “It was 13th of July 2015. It was my sister’s birthday. Selina was with me. We were there a few hours. Everything was fine. [After drink] she is narky and she could take it out on anyone. I said we would leave the party. I said come up to the house and we would talk about it tomorrow.

“She was roaring. We walked on to my place. I said we’d sleep on it and talk about it with clear heads in the morning. While she was scratching me she fell on the ground. She went off in a huff. The following morning she was in the bed next to me. If she was in fear of me then why did she stay in the bed that night with me? I think she is bringing up these allegations because I wanted to break up with her and she did not want this.”

Denying the assault, Hurley said: “I have the height of respect for women. I have four sisters. I wasn’t brought up like that.”