A Donegal man with 29 previous convictions, has been given a suspended prison sentence for breaching a domestic violence order.
The man was jailed for four months when convicted at Letterkenny District Court and Judge Éiteáin Cunningham suspended the sentence for a period of 18 months.
The man, who is in his 50s, cannot be named for legal reasons to protect the identity of the victim in the case.
The court heard from his former partner, who outlined that she was in a relationship with the man for more than 10 years.
She said the accused man’s breaches of a barring order, which she was previously granted in court, affected her “quite severely”.
The woman told Judge Cunningham that she experiences nightmares “on a nightly basis” and she is sometimes “afraid to leave my own house”.
The biggest effect had been emotionally, she said, and she has been dealing with a lot of anxiety as a result of the incidents.
“When the barring order was secured, it felt like the beginning of coming back to myself and living my new life,” the woman said. “I thought that I was protected by the barring order, but that didn’t happen on a number of occasions.”
She added: “I am not here looking for revenge, I am just looking for justice. Domestic violence is a silent killer.”
A probation and welfare report outlined that the man has engaged with available services.
Sergeant Maurice Doyle told the court that the man has 29 convictions, but they all go back over 15 years ago and he has not come to adverse attention since the incident for which he was before the court.
Mr Patsy Gallagher, solicitor for the accused man, said that his client would have ongoing treatment for the remainder of his life “and he accepts that”.
Mr Gallagher said the man accepts his offending behaviour and he has since “grabbed an opportunity”.
Judge Cunningham said she noted the positive probation report and that the man has undertaken a number of work-focussed programmes.
Judge Cunningham said that it was a very serious matter and particularly a breach of a domestic violence order, which is there to protect people.
The man was convicted and sentenced to four months in prison. Judge Cunningham suspended the entirety of the sentence on condition that the man enter a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a period of 18 months.
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