'Beaten, slapped and choked': Man (40) jailed for assaulting partner in two violent attacks
Fiona Ferguson
A man who twice violently assaulted his former partner has been jailed for two years.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the woman feared she would be killed during the attacks perpetrated on her by Toyatma Fedee (40) at her home.
Defence counsel, Keith Spencer, told the court it had been a time of high stress as the couple cohabited during the Covid lockdown. He said his client had also consumed alcohol.
Fedee of Mountjoy Square West, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to assaulting his former partner, causing her harm at her Dublin home on March 2, 2020.
A further charge of assaulting the woman, causing her harm on July 3rd, 2020 was taken into consideration. He has no previous convictions and entered the guilty plea on his trial date.
Passing sentence, Judge Martin Nolan said Fedee had attacked and assaulted the woman.
He said he had beaten, slapped and choked the woman after knocking her to the ground. He noted the woman was in fear for her life and thought she may be killed or suffer serious injuries.
He noted she was prepared to forgive the first time, but the behaviour was repeated and that ended the relationship. He said the events were frightening and the woman was unsurprisingly traumatised.
He said the court took into account his guilty plea, work history and lack of prior convictions.
Judge Nolan noted the man has taken steps to deal with his aggression and is now married.
He said the fact that there was a second incident of assault meant a custodial term was warranted.
Judge Nolan set a headline sentence of four years imprisonment and, taking into account mitigation, imposed a sentence of two years.
An investigating garda told Jane Murphy, prosecuting, that the couple began a relationship in November 2019 and the woman described experiencing possessive behaviour from the accused from the outset.
The garda said on March 2nd, 2020 the couple had been socialising together in the city centre and both had alcohol to drink.
A 'massive rage'
They returned to the woman’s home and were having a chat when Fedee became angry. He claimed she made a remark about his father, but he could not recall what it was.
He grabbed her wrist, hurting and frightening her. She asked what he was doing, and in response he punched her on the cheek with force at least twice. She fell to the ground on her back.
She described the man as being in a “massive rage.” He grabbed her hair and hit her head off the wooden floor. He continued the assault, slapping and choking her. She said the choking went on “for ages” and she thought she was going to die.
He began shouting “where is my money?" but was not interested in her offer to go to an ATM.
Fedee threatened her family and told her he “has people.” He followed her to the bedroom where he began crying and said he did not know why he behaved like that
He apologised and after a long conversation she felt this was a once-off and agreed to resume the relationship. He texted with further apologies the next day.
The second assault
There was no further violence until July 3rd, 2020. She said in the days leading up to the second assault, he was acting aggressively and complaining about the noise of her dogs and of her exercising.
She said on the day in question, they were awoken at 6.30am by her dog going to the toilet which made him angry.
Later in the kitchen he shoved her into an extractor fan and grabbed her face with force. He began choking and slapping her. She said she could not recall how many times he slapped her.
She said she kept trying to run away, but he grabbed her back. She was terrified and could not speak. The accused man started shouting “speak up, what is wrong with you?”
She said while he was choking her, he asked her: “What’s wrong with you, I didn’t even punch you this time.” She went to her bedroom and said she was going to leave.
He told her she was not going anywhere and pinned her to the bed. He kneeled on her shoulder and took her phone.
She said he then began to show some concern for her and gave her a glass of water. She ran from the house. The accused followed her out onto the street, she got back inside and locked the door behind her.
He banged on the windows and told her she would see him again. He demanded a month’s rent back and threatened to burn the premises.
The woman went to a garda station and made a report. The following year the accused was arrested and interviewed.
Spencer said Fedee made some admissions, accepted it was not normal and that he needed psychological intervention. He told gardaí he had unresolved grief from the death of his mother.
Spencer said his client has made a financial gesture of remorse, but the injured party is not willing to accept it. The accused man took the stand and offered an apology for his behaviour.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said prior to the events she had a career, a social circle and her future mapped out. She trusted people and was happy, strong and confident.
She said she no longer felt safe, suffered night terrors, hypervigilance and PTSD. She said she finds intimacy and relationships difficult, she is more guarded and mistrusting.
“I have had to rebuild from scratch, and the process has taken years and continues to take effort, ” she said.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information.
Safe Ireland also offers a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
