Man jailed for beating partner in ‘episode of extreme rage’

A Wicklow resident who beat his partner in "an episode of extreme rage" which left her in hospital has received a three-year sentence.

Garda Kevin Murphy said construction worker Lukasz Drozdziel (24) had had an argument with his ex-partner while drinking with her and her flatmate in her home.

The woman later told gardaí that Drozdziel “just lost the plot”. She said Drozdziel left after beating her in the hall, but returned by breaking through the front door while she was trying to escape out a window.

Garda Murphy said the woman was later treated in hospital for three slashes to her abdomen and a cut on her head.

Drozdziel, of Tuskar Courtyard, Marina Village, Arklow, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting the woman causing her harm at her home at Marino, Dublin on August 5th, 2017.

He also pleaded guilty to damaging the front door of her property on the same date. Drozdziel has four previous convictions all dealt with at District Court level.

On Monday, judge Melanie Greally commented that this was "an episode of extreme rage".

She said that the head and abdomen injuries required the woman to be hospitalised and that the emotional and psychological effects were greater than her physical scars.

At the sentence hearing, Garda Murphy told the court that Drozdziel knocked his ex-partner to the ground in her hall and that she went into shock when she saw blood coming from her head.

The woman recalled that Drozdziel would hit her each time she tried to get up and that he had smashed a wine bottle off the floor.

Drozdziel left the house and the woman’s flatmate took her to his room and phoned emergency services. The woman then heard Drozdziel bashing the glass on the front door, but she did not recall whether he attacked her again.

The flatmate later told gardaí that he roared at Drozdziel to stop punching the woman once the attack started. He said the woman was covered in blood and shaking.

Garda Murphy told Tom Neville, prosecuting, that Drozdziel was highly intoxicated on arrest and claimed his partner had been dragging out of him “like a mad thing”.

The garda said Drozdziel admitted at some stage that he had pushed her to the ground. The woman’s victim-impact statement was not read out in court.

Compensation

Garda Murphy agreed with Kim Moloney, defending, that her client had intended to gather compensation for his ex-partner.

On Monday, Ms Moloney submitted that her client had more than €3,000 in court as a gesture of remorse, knowing it would not make up for his actions.

Ms Moloney submitted that Drozdziel has been alcohol free for five months and had issues with conflict and anger management.

The judge noted that Drozdziel claimed the violence on the night was linked to the deaths of his father, as well as a former crew mate who fell overboard on a fishing vessel.

The judge said the assault was at the upper end of the scale for offences of its kind and she imposed a three-year sentence with the final nine months suspended.

She ordered that Drozdziel undergo 18 months’ post-release supervision and complete a domestic violence perpetrator programme.