A woman who found herself in a controlling and abusive relationship has told a court her ex-boyfriend "sucked the life, soul and confidence" from her body.
The man, who can’t be named for legal reasons, is awaiting sentence for multiple charges, including an attempt to get her to withdraw her statements.
During their relationship, the woman suffered a broken arm, multiple black eyes, a broken nose and a serious head injury that needed stitches.
The abuse began shortly after the couple started seeing each other.
In May 2018, he burned her foot by putting a cigarette out it in the apartment they shared in Dublin.
He choked her and left her with permanent scarring on her face when he attacked her with a pizza slicer.
Fear
The alarm was raised in September 2019 when her doctor contacted gardaí out of fear that the woman’s boyfriend was going to kill her.
He was convicted last November following a 21-day trial, during which she gave evidence against him, despite his attempts to get her to withdraw her statements through phone calls between them while he was in prison.
In her Victim Impact Statement, she said he had destroyed her self-worth and self-confidence. She said he used to tell her to go to the beauticians to get stuff done and would also tell her to buy new shoes.
She said she would have gone back to him if it wasn’t for the support she received from gardaí. If she had, she said she could be dead now.
The man will be sentenced next week.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, please call Women’s Aid 24hr Freephone Helpline on 1800 341 900 or dial 999 if it’s an emergency situation.
