Jailed for kicking girlfriend

Jason John Robert Curry, whose address was given on court papers as Mount Royal, had denied one charge of common assasult relating to an incident on April 26.

However, the 34-year-old was convicted of the charge after a contest at the local Magistrate’s Court, which lasted just over half an hour.

The woman told Londonderry Magistrate’s Court she returned home, after staying at a friend’s house, to find Curry drinking from a litre bottle of vodka.

She said he asked her where she had been, before calling her a “tramp” and a “dirty b******” and spat in her face.

The court heard evidence that Curry settled down for a while but then became aggressive again and kicked her on the left side of her head.

The injured party claimed this was a “swipe” while she was sitting on the floor, but told the court the defendant was wearing steel toe-capped boots.

She further alleged that he attempted to grab her by the hair a few times when she tried to phone her family.

The woman told the court her family later came to her house and Curry left. She added that their relationship was over after this.

Under cross-examination by defence solicitor Seamus Quigley she denied suggestions that Curry only asked her where she had been and there was no argument about it.

She told Mr Quigley that his client was essentially “looking to start a fight,” but she never left the house because she was “hoping it would settle down”.

During the cross-examination, the woman admitted that she didn’t sustain any injury despite being kicked when Curry was wearing steel toe-capped boots claiming she just had a “bit of pain”.

The defence solicitor told the court his client would not be giving evidence in the case and is “aware of the consequences”.

Convicting the 34-year-old, District Judge Barney McElholm said he didn’t believe Curry’s version of events, given during police interview.

He said the idea the injured party “would just make this up is lacking credibility”.

The judge jailed the 34-year-old for three months. He also imposed a restraining order, which bans Curry from going within 100 metres of the woman’s home for five years.