Man who punched girlfriend is jailed

A 43-year-old man who assaulted his girlfriend was jailed for two months when he appeared before Londonderry Magistrates Court.

Paul Martin Pius Kelly (43), of Damien House, pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault, which occurred on March 5.

The police were called to John Street after reports that a woman was assaulted.

Officers spoke to the injured party at Foyle Haven, who said her partner of two years had hit her on the right side of her face.

She had a visible red mark to her face as a result of the assault, however, the injured party then refused to make a formal statement to police. The court was told the incident was caught on CCTV.

Arising out of this, Kelly was arrested but made no comment during police interview.

Defence solicitor Paddy MacDermott said the relationship between the defendant and the injured party was “marked by excess consumption of alcohol on both sides”.

He said the assault consisted of one slap and stressed that the woman did not proceed with the complaint.

Mr MacDermott told the court his client received a three-month sentence earlier this year for a similar offence and was due to be released from prison on July 19.

He urged the court not to interfere with this release date as Kelly had all sorts of health issues and found prison difficult.

District Judge Barney McElholm jailed Kelly for two months.