Man accused of abusing and coercively controlling his former partner denies all allegations
Judge remanded the accused in custody until Tuesday, February 4. Picture: Larry Cummins
A 50-year-old man accused of coercively controlling his former partner for five years of their relationship reacted to the allegations by claiming she was an alcoholic liar with mental health problems.
These were the allegations outlined on Wednesday by Detective Garda Paul Cogan, who objected to bail being granted to the man, who was arrested and charged with six counts, including coercive control, assault causing harm and four threats to kill the woman.
He said investigating gardaí were opposed to bail because of fears the accused would intimidate his ex-partner and witnesses.
Defence solicitor Shane Collins-Daly said on behalf of the accused: “He totally denies everything. He says he is completely and utterly innocent of all these allegations that happened almost four years ago. It is a very acrimonious break-up and he says he is in fear of her and that she frequently assaulted him. He never punched anyone in his life. He utterly denied the allegations.”
The accused man said in his application for bail: “They are making me out to be a monster. It is not true. Absolutely not true.”
Det Garda Cogan said the complainant alleged her ex-partner coercively controlled her for the five years of their relationship, that he spat in her face, choked her and punched and kicked her in the body, called her a fat bitch and even assaulted her when she was holding their child.
The detective said the accused sat in the car on the day she got out of the maternity hospital after having a child, and she had to buy groceries in the supermarket while she was still bleeding.
It was alleged she would wake in the morning to find he had emptied bins on the floor and he would punish her for not cleaning the house to his satisfaction.
The detective said the defendant weaponised their child to say the mother was “an evil bitch”.
Det Garda Cogan said she was in constant fear of him when they were living together and he would regularly phone her in work and reduce her to tears by the verbal abuse on the phone.
In physical terms, it was claimed he pulled clumps of hair out of her head and threatened to smash her face, cut her throat and smother her with a pillow as she slept.
Det Garda Cogan said one previous girlfriend of the accused said she suffered similar abuse and when a second girlfriend was asked, she cried and said she did not want to go back to that period of her life.
Sergeant Aisling Murphy said gardaí were opposed to bail on any terms.
Mr Collins-Daly said it could take a year for this to come to trial — probably at Cork Circuit Criminal Court — and that the defendant would comply with any bail conditions.
Judge Mary Dorgan said nothing could be published that would identify the complainant. She said the allegations were extremely difficult to listen to but everyone was entitled to a presumption of innocence.
She began to set bail on strict terms, namely his own bail of €10,000, of which €5,000 to be lodged, an independent surety of €15,000, of which half was to be lodged, or two independent sureties on the same terms.
As the judge said there could not no contact, direct or indirect, the accused began to speak up from the dock about a logistical difficulty which he perceived.
Judge Dorgan said it was not a bargaining situation and instead she remanded the accused in custody until Tuesday, February 4, when the question of bail could be revisited.
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