Vicious assault on ex-girlfriend earns warning

Vicious assault on ex-girlfriend earns warning

23 November 2016

A DOWNPATRICK man has been given a five month suspended jail term for a “shocking assault” on his former partner.

At Downpatrick courthouse last Tuesday, Patrick Joseph McMillan (25), of Ballymote Walk, admitted assaulting the woman while she taking a bath in her mother’s house on August 21.

Describing his behaviour as “shocking”, District Judge Greg McCourt said McMillan had to realise his relationship with the woman was over.

He said McMillan, who was last week sentenced to three months in prison suspended for two years on a different charge, should have “learnt his lesson.”

He said he would make the new sentence consecutive to last week’s sentence, meaning the defendant will face an eight month prison sentence if he commits a crime in the next three years, “so there is no chance” of him breaking the law.

The court heard that the defendant got into the woman’s house through an unlocked door and found his former partner in the bath where he punched her in the stomach.

When she locked him out, he managed to unlock the bathroom door to gain entry a second time, punching her twice in the head.

Originally denying the assault at police interview, McMillan finally pleaded guilty to a single charge yesterday afternoon.

“If you go anywhere near her and break the law you will be starting off with a very heavy sentence,” Mr McCourt warned.