Latest news with #DomesticViolenceAct2018
Extra.ie
25-05-2025
- Extra.ie
Coercive control victims 'are not being believed' by authorities
An author and coercive control survivor who suffered years of abuse at the hands of a serving garda said abused women are 'not being believed' by the authorities. Nicola Hanney spoke out after new figures provided by the DPP confirm there has been just 25 successful prosecutions since legislation making coercive control a criminal offence was enacted six years ago. This is despite separate figures which confirm more than 60,000 calls alleging coercive control were made to garda stations across the country last year alone. Pic: AlvaroOut of the 25 convictions recorded since January 2019, just two people were convicted on a sole charge of coercive control. But in these two instances, which include Ms Hanney's case, the perpetrator was originally charged with more offences. In her critically acclaimed memoir, Stronger: What Didn't Kill Me, Made Me, Ms Hanney detailed the living hell she endured at the hands of Garda Paul Moody, who was sentenced to three years and three months in prison for coercive control in 2023. This abuse included smashing up her apartment, threatening to take their newborn son away while she received cancer treatment and isolating her from her friends and family. Nicola Hanney. Pic: RTÉ Ms Hanney described coercive control an 'assault on the mind', and said it is 'shocking' more perpetrators have not been convicted. She told 'I'm one of the two [where the sole charge was coercive control]. There were more charges to start, but they were dwindled down to one charge of coercive control.' The resolute mother, who was being treated for stage four cancer at the time of her abuse ordeal, said all women 'deserve to be free'. She added: 'It's a life sentence for women, but the evidence shows they aren't being believed. Domestic abuse is not being taken seriously in the country still. Pic: Getty Images 'Two convictions [for sole coercive control] is shocking. Coercive control is an assault on your mind, it's a horrible form of abuse.' In response to queries from the Office of the DPP confirmed 'the total number of convictions recorded on our case management system for the offence of coercive control contrary to section 39 Domestic Violence Act 2018, since the enactment of the Act is 25'. Asked how many of these were for standalone coercive control convictions, a spokeswoman confirmed: 'Just two.' Nicola Hanney. Photo: RTÉ. In stark contrast to the low level of convictions, gardaí confirmed that provisional figures show there 'in excess of 61,000 domestic abuse-related contacts in 2024' to stations across the country. Ms Hanney, who continues to advocate for abused women, said she is 'not surprised at all by low levels of convictions' given the stories she hears from victims. She added: 'People are begging me for help, they feel they are not being believed and some just give up because of that. 'I can understand why women give up and live a life of hell. It's like you're being defeated all the time.' Ms Hanney warned that, unless the justice system changes, 'women are going to take their own lives. And what about the children who are witnessing the abuse? It will have a lifelong effect on them.' She told 'It should be a human right you're protected. But my heart is broken for these women. The lack of convictions in sending out terrible message.'
Sunday World
23-04-2025
- Sunday World
Thug who viciously beat and forced ex into car boot appeals sentence increase
Soufiane Mountassir had his sentence almost doubled last October The Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal of a man who had his sentence increased for beating and forcing his ex-partner into the boot of a car. Soufiane Mountassir (39) was handed down a three-year prison term in December 2023 when he pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault causing harm. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the sentence as it was 'unduly lenient', and as a result, it was increased to five-and-a-half years. Mountassir then lodged an appeal to the Supreme Court, claiming that the new sentence, which was handed down last October was 'excessive and disproportionate'. Supreme Court judges have now ruled that they will hear the appeal and raised concerns about how the Domestic Violence Act 2018 should be applied in sentencing for violent offences in intimate-partner contexts, an area that has not yet been addressed by the court. The 39-year-old who is wanted in Germany for arson, went into what his former partner called 'a blind rage' when he subjected her to one hour and 40 minutes of being beaten and kicked, causing her to fear for her life, in the early hours of November 13, 2022. He had been drinking, taking Dalmane and cocaine and smoking cannabis all through the day of the attack. Imposing the sentence of three years, Judge Orla Crowe said the victim 'opened her home and heart' to Mountassir. She described the incident as a 'sustained, humiliating, violent series of offending that went through the city centre.' In October, Diarmuid Collins BL for the state told the Court of Appeal that a 'particularly horrifying' aspect of this case was the fact that Mountassir had forced the woman, who was his partner at the time, into the boot of her own car before driving her around to various dark locations, where he 'beat her quite savagely' on a number of occasions. He said there had been descriptions of the respondent ramming the woman's head against the steering wheel and the gearstick, evidence of blood in the car and photographs of the aftermath which 'speak for themselves'. When interviewed by gardaí, Mr Collins said that the accused offered an account that was wholly 'exculpatory' and sought to 'blame her for the incident', suggesting the victim had banged her own head off the steering wheel. The barrister submitted that the sentence imposed in this case represented an error in principle and was a substantial departure from the appropriate sentence. Mr Collins further asserted that the sentencing judge had fallen into error by failing to nominate a headline sentence and failing to impose an actual sentence which adequately reflected the very serious aggravating factors in the case. He said these included the fact that the injured party was effectively abducted and subjected to a sustained and prolonged one-hour and 40-minute attack, and the lies told by Mountassir, he said. Other factors included that the assault took place within the context of an intimate relationship and the fact that Mountassir was wanted in another jurisdiction for another serious offence – arson – for which a significant penalty of three years and one months' imprisonment had been imposed. The barrister also submitted that the judge had placed undue emphasis on the mitigating factors in the case, in particular the accused's plea of guilty in circumstances where he was caught 'red handed', and his personal circumstances, given the absence of reliable information in relation to this. Mr Collins said the 'very stark' and 'chilling' nature of the case was deeply disturbing, adding one wondered what might have happened were it not for the intervention of 'three very civic minded individuals' who observed what was going on and contacted gardaí. Miceál O'Connor BL, representing Mountassir, said the judge had properly considered all the factors and circumstances of the case and had imposed the appropriate sentence. 'In my submission Judge Crowe got this right,' he said, adding she had dealt with the matter 'impeccably'. The barrister said 'everything that should have been done was done' and while the sentence was not 'harsh' it was within her discretion. At an earlier sentence hearing, the court was told gardaí were called by three separate witnesses about the attack in different areas of the city before they finally located Mountassir and the woman in Grangegorman. The court heard that Mountassir met the woman in Temple Bar and they moved in together after a few weeks. The woman said Mountassir was 'so charming and kind' when they first met and that the relationship 'moved pretty fast'. On the night in question, they were in the city centre when they got into an argument about jealousy. The woman then remembered Mountassir slapping her face and her glasses falling off. She described Mountassir gripping her and forcing her to the car where he smashed her face with force onto the boot, leaving her face covered in blood. He then forced her into the boot and began starting and stopping the car, before eventually stopping the car and forcing her into the passenger seat. 'He was full of anger, punching my face and body repeatedly, I could not breathe from being punched into the side of the body. He told me to wipe blood off the window. I did what he said,' she said. The court heard Mountassir grabbed her by the hair and smashed her head off the dashboard, the gear stick, the steering wheel and the passenger door. She begged him to stop, but said he didn't care and she was concerned he was going to kill her. Mountassir has no previous convictions in this jurisdiction but the court heard he was due before the Extradition Court as he is wanted in Germany in relation to an arson offence.
Irish Times
21-04-2025
- Irish Times
Supreme Court to consider approach to sentencing for violent offences against intimate partners
The Supreme Court is to consider important legal issues with a view to clarifying the proper approach to sentencing for violent offences committed in the context of intimate-partner relationships. The issues arise in a man's appeal against the near-doubling of his sentence over forcing his then-partner into the boot of her car and later savagely beating her. In a recently published determination, a panel of three Supreme Court judges said the court will hear an appeal by Soufiane Mountassir, who is serving a 5½-year sentence after the Court of Appeal decided last October his original three-year sentence was too lenient. The appeal raises issues of general public importance concerning the proper approach to sentencing in respect of offences of this kind, the judges said. The issues included the proper application and effect of the Domestic Violence Act 2018 in the context of violent offences involving intimate-partner relationships, an issue not previously considered by the Supreme Court. READ MORE It is in the interests of justice that sentencing practice in this area be clarified so far as possible, the judges said. [ No Visible Bruises: Masterfully unpicking cliches around domestic violence Opens in new window ] Mountassir (40), with an address at Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in December 2023 to one count of false imprisonment in Dublin 8 and one count of assault causing harm to his then-partner on Blackhall Street, Dublin 7, in the early hours of November 13th, 2022. He had been drinking, taking Dalmane and cocaine and smoking cannabis throughout the day of the attack. Mountassir, who is wanted in Germany for arson, went into what his former partner called 'a blind rage', Judge Orla Crowe heard, and subjected her to one hour and 40 minutes of being beaten and kicked, including punching her and ramming her head against the steering wheel, causing her to fear for her life. When imposing sentence, Judge Crowe said the victim had 'opened her home and heart' to Mountassir. The incident involved a 'sustained, humiliating, violent series of offending', she said. Having set a headline sentence of five years for the false imprisonment offence and taken into account Mountassir's guilty plea and his personal circumstances as a foreign national with no family here, she imposed a three-year sentence for false imprisonment. The charge of assault was taken into consideration. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) appealed the sentence as unduly lenient. Last October, the Court of Appeal agreed it was, overturned it and imposed a sentence of 5½ years. The appeal court noted the serious violence used and that the victim's liberty was restrained multiple times, with significant trauma caused during the ordeal. The victim was forced into the car boot for 10 minutes before being manhandled into the passenger seat and driven around in a protracted ordeal, with physical violence used that resulted in injuries. 'There was dominance, coercion and an abuse of the power that comes with a male's greater physical strength,' it said. This was all within the context of an intimate relationship, and Mountassir's conduct was intended to maximise the distress of the victim, humiliate her and coerce her submission to his dominance, it said. A hearing date for the Supreme Court appeal will be fixed later.
