Judge says domestic abuse is an 'epidemic' across Northern Ireland

District Judge Nigel Broderick warned such "abhorrent behaviour" will not be tolerated by courts and will be dealt with "robustly".

He told 62-year-old Kevin McAleese, of Maxwells Road near the village of Connor outside Ballymena, the jail term was aimed to punish the defendant but also to act as a deterrent to others.

The defendant, who had originally said he was contesting the charge, pleaded guilty at Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Thursday to a charge of 'domestic abuse' between, according to the charge sheet, February 2022 and August last year.

The charge was that he 'engaged in a course of behaviour that was abusive of another person (his wife), a person to whom you were personally connected at the time and the course of behaviour is such that a reasonable person would consider the course of behaviour to be likely to cause (his wife) to suffer physical or psychological harm'.

A prosecutor said police attended a "domestic" on August 12 last year and spoke to a woman at the front door, away from her husband. She was "visibly upset" and said the defendant had come home drunk after being with friends in Belfast most of the day.

She said he had been verbally abusive towards her, swearing and calling her names.

The prosecutor said the behaviour had "become intolerable" to the woman and she requested police assistance "in removing him from the property".

The prosecutor said the woman said that prior to that night the defendant had "repeatedly told her to die and told her to 'F off' back to Scotland'."

The woman said the defendant "constantly shouted and swore at her on a daily basis" and that the behaviour would be worse when he was drinking, "which would be a lot of the time".

The prosecutor continued: "She alleged he financially abuses her and treats her like a servant. She stated that despite earning more money than her that she has to pay all the household bills and that he uses most of his money for alcohol".

The prosecutor added: "She said he became abusive when she does not have his work clothing washed and ironed to his standard".

The court was told the woman previously attempted to separate from him and "set him up with a flat" to get him out of the matrimonial home but that hadn't lasted and he returned to the home and continued the abuse.

The prosecutor said the woman said the abuse "persisted for the 14 years of their relationship".

The woman said she was in contact with Women's Aid because the behaviour was having a "detrimental effect" on her.

The court heard there had been a "subsequent breach of bail" when the defendant returned to the house.

When interviewed by police, the defendant denied the charge and had alleged his wife had "fabricated things".

A defence barrister said the defendant now "accepts in its entirety the allegations that have been made against him. They are no longer allegations they are facts as regards what was a very difficult marriage for himself and this lady that he met in Glasgow".

The lawyer said the defendant is a bus driver who spends a lot of time working away from home in England.

The barrister said the incidents were "very, very, unsavoury" because when one party in a relationship is verbally abusive and controlling, that has an effect on the other person's mental health".

The lawyer said the defendant may well have originally "taken exception" to some issues but his behaviour had been "deplorable".

The barrister said a Probation course which "deals with men primarily, who find themselves in a situation were they believe they can be controlling, either financially or in a relationship," could be suitable for the defendant.

The lawyer said the "marriage is over" and the defendant's wife still lives in the family home and there would be financial aspects to divorce proceedings but "these are matters that fall at his door because of his behaviour over a period of years which was completely unacceptable".

The defendant, the court heard, had one previous drink driving related conviction eight years ago.

Judge Broderick said the charge of domestic abuse offence is a "relatively new statutory offence and it had been brought in to address what appears to be an epidemic of domestic abuse in this jurisdiction. I, and I am sure my colleagues, are seeing an ever increasing amount of perpetrators of domestic abuse including other offences such as 'non-fatal strangulation'."

He said perpetrators of such offences had to realise that if they commit such offences they will receive immediate custodial sentences.

To "reflect how serious" the defendant's offending had been, the judge said he had re-visited the victim's statement and McAleese's wife said he "constantly put me down by talking badly to my friends if they gave me a compliment".

The judge said she had added: "He complains at me for simply using my phone. He does not allow me to watch the television and if I do not comply with his demands he will become aggressive.

"He expects me to cook and clean for him and if he is not satisfied he will verbally abuse me and become aggressive towards me again."

The judge said the statement says the defendant told his wife: "Why don't you just go and die".

Judge Broderick told McAleese: "You then invite her to commit suicide".

In one incident he had grabbed her by the hair in the kitchen, slapped her in the face and slapped her again in the bedroom, the judge said.

The judge added: "It is not surprising that she ends this statement by saying that she feels trapped in this relationship and 'his behaviour is destroying my mental health'."

Judge Broderick said the defendant had the "audacity" to fix the matter for contest and then pleaded guilty at the "eleventh hour" and "no doubt the complainant would have been fraught with worry that she would have to re-visit these disturbing incidents".

The judge said the defendant had entered a guilty plea but he was not so sure McAleese was "truly remorseful" because in a pre-sentence report he seemed to "minimise your behaviour and detract from that and putting the blame on the victim".

Judge Broderick told him: "This is abhorrent behaviour. It will not be tolerated by the courts and will be dealt with robustly".

The judge said the maximum sentence for the offence was 12 months jail but he had to take into account his guilty plea and "relatively clear record" of one offence “involving alcohol and driving".

Judge Broderick added: "No doubt perhaps alcohol was a feature of your disgusting behaviour against your wife".

The judge said a jail sentence was "justified as much to punish you and to deter others who may be tempted to treat their partners in such an abominable way".

He handed down a six months prison sentence and a two year Restraining Order was made.

The defendant, with a bail address in Belfast, was released on his own bail of £500 pending appeal.