Man who slapped son over toileting issues sentenced to 20 months in prison

Teenage victim, who was eight at the time, tells court his father is ‘a huge part’ of why he is anxious today A man who slapped his eight-year-old son over toileting issues eight years ago has been jailed for one year and eight months.The 45-year-old pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to child cruelty and assault causing harm to the boy in June 2018. He has six previous convictions, all for offences under section 33 of the Domestic Violence Act against the boy’s mother.He cannot be named to protect the now teenage boy’s right to anonymity.On Thursday, Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin said the man’s actions were a “breach of parental trust” and made more serious by his responsibility towards his son.READ MORELive Ireland v England team announcement: Sam Prendergast dropped from matchday squad, Jack Crowley to start at 10Britain’s former prince Andrew arrested on suspicion ​of ⁠misconduct ⁠in ​public officeUS firms Apple, Microsoft and Eli Lilly paid almost 50% of State’s corporate tax in 2024Salesman sacked from €200,000-a-year job after trying to block ‘corrupt’ deal loses caseThe judge noted this was a once-off incident, which the man self-reported.She said the physical impacts were less serious than the psychological effects and that the man’s relationship with his son has since “completely ruptured”.Referring to the victim impact statement, the judge noted the boy said he was experiencing anxiety, which the court processes, including some relating to family law, would have contributed to.The judge noted the man’s guilty plea, the delay in the case and that the loss of his relationship with his son is a “punishment in itself”.She imposed a sentence of two years and four months, with the final eight months suspended on strict conditions including 12 months of supervision by the Probation Services post release.The court previously heard the man had self-reported the offending to the authorities when he had a telephone call with his son’s teacher to update him on his progress. He told the teacher the boy was soiling towels and clothes with faeces and hid them around the house.He said he smacked the child as a result of toileting issues and that he knew this was wrong. He said he smacked the boy on the buttocks and the upper thighs. His teacher hadn’t noticed anything untoward but a child referral was sent to Tusla.The court heard the man was separated from the child’s mother. A social care leader spoke to the man after he self-reported the incident in December 2019 but Tusla had no record of it, the court heard.A Tusla worker called the boy’s mother who said she was aware of the smacking incident and photographed the marks on the child two days later. These photographs were shown to the judge. The court heard they depicted bruising on the boy’s buttocks and lower legs. The court heard it took a number of days for the bruising to heal and the boy did not want to see his father after that, and has only seen him twice since June 2018. When the man was arrested, he admitted spanking the child with an open hand. The man said he spun the child around and told gardaí: “When I spanked him I did it like I meant it. I didn’t know my own strength.”In April 2024, the boy said he wanted to provide a statement. In the course of the interview he said that on a visit to his father’s house he had a bowel issue. He said his father dragged him into the bathroom and slapped him.The boy said he remembered the noise that the slapping made and his legs were shaking but his father kept hitting him. He said his father was constantly shouting while hitting him and saying: “Why do you keep doing this? I’m getting sick of it now. You have to sort this out.”The child was not present but his victim impact statement was read to the court by an investigating garda. In it he said his father was a “huge part of why I am anxious today”, He said he was certain his father had his home address so he “slept with a rubber mallet”.