Kildare court: Man avoids jail sentence for assaulting female garda following intervention of ex-partner

A man residing in County Kildare avoided jail sentence for assaulting a female garda, following the intervention of his ex-partner in the court case.

The case was heard at Naas District Court on Thursday, May 4 last.

Last year, the court was told that the garda answered a phone call relating to a report of a domestic violence incident, and came down to the home.

When she got there, the man became angered at the presence of gardaí.

According to the garda, he 'actively resisted arrest' and shoved her against a garda car, causing her to injure her back.

It was heard that the man and woman's children were present in the house at the time of the incident.

After being reminded of the details of the case, Judge Desmond Zaidan said that he had sympathy for their children, and called the man's actions on the night 'cowardly'.

In her victim impact statement, the garda said that she had to attend a chiropractor following the incident, and was unable to train for a number of months.

Defending solicitor Tim Kennelly previously said at a court session in relation to the case, which was heard back in March, that his client was struggling with an addiction to alcohol at the time of the offences.

He added that the man and the woman are going to divorce, and he has since left the family home.

Shortly after Mr Kennelly spoke, the man's ex-partner became emotional and asked Judge Zaidan not to send the man to prison, for the sake of their children.

"I don't want to tell them that their dad has been sent away to prison, I am begging you," she said through tears.

After listening to her plea, Judge Zaidan remarked that he remembered her from the last court session, where he praised her for her 'not seeking revenge' against her ex-partner.

He said that he would not send him to prison, and instead opted to fine the man a total of €2,000 for his offences, which would go towards the man's former partner, in order to allow her to look after their children.

The judge gave the man three months to pay the fines, and warned him that if he did not pay, he would be sent to prison for one year.