A man who punched his then-partner in the face after accusing her of flirting with another man, in what a judge described as an “extremely bad assault”, has had his jail sentence replaced with a suspended term on appeal.
Aaron Lee Kinsella Kelly (23) with an address at Chapel Farm Road, Lusk, Co Dublin pleaded guilty in the District Court to assault under section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997, where he was sentenced to one month in custody.
Garda Brendan Maguire told the District Court Appeals Court on Thursday that he was called to an alleged assault at the Clayton Hotel, Dublin Airport on the morning of February 5th, 2024.
He said he observed the injured party had a swollen and bruised face.
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He said that she told him she had been punched in the face by her then partner, who had accused her of flirting with another man.
Garda Maguire said that Kelly was arrested for assault and made no reply when he was later charged by gardaí.
Defence counsel for Kelly, Amy Hughes BL, told the court that the attack happened during an argument with the injured party in a vehicle on the way home from an event.
She said that the assault was a very serious matter, for which Kelly is “extremely remorseful”.
Ms Hughes said that Kelly pleaded guilty in the District Court and was appealing the case on the grounds of severity of sentence only.
She said that the incident happened during a “volatile relationship” while the appellant was living a “party lifestyle”.
Ms Hughes told the judge that Kelly was going through emotional issues at the time and that he had depression and anxiety.
Judge Catherine White said she was “really surprised” that the assault was dealt with “so leniently” in the District Court.
She said that the case was an “extremely, extremely bad assault” and remarked on the “very impressive” victim impact statement.
However, she decided to increase the sentence from one month to six months imprisonment, but fully suspended it for 12 months.
“I do so reluctantly,” she added,
Judge White also directed that Kelly pay €500 to his nearest women’s refuge and that he was not to “go anywhere near” the road where the victim lives.
