Portlaoise Court: Wife found used condom in family car
Portlaoise Courthouse
A USED condom and the smell of cannabis from a family car is alleged to have landed a man in court for allegedly breaking a domestic violence safety order. The man is accused of putting his wife in fear by shouting at her.
At Portlaoise Family Law Court last week, gardaí objected to bail for the man, who allegedly broke the safety order at the Laois home on 19 March.
The objection was based on concern that the defendant would interfere with the injured party and that he was at risk of reoffending.
Outlining the allegations, a garda said that the woman had returned to her home in Laois from her homeland after visiting family members.
The court heard that the husband wasn’t at home when she returned, but that her children were. She decided to take them out for a meal. When she opened the family car, she got a strong smell of cannabis, saw tobacco on the floor as well as a used condom.
She took the children out for the meal. On her return, while putting them to bed, she heard her husband coming into the house. He sought the car keys, which she refused to give him and he left the house.
A short while later, he returned and went upstairs, kicked in the bedroom door with force and started shouting at his wife, putting her in fear.
The arresting garda told the court that the woman had not said what her husband had shouted at her. However, she said that while the injured party was speaking to a call handler after ringing 999, that the handler had heard shouting.
The court was told that the 49-year-old defendant is not currently residing at the family home, but can be accommodated at another address.
The man’s barrister Anne Doyle said that her client has the presumption of innocence and is entitled to bail and “fully intends to contest the charge”.
She said: “It was merely a domestic row and no more than that. The position was, she was enraged to see a used condom in the car. The alleged injured party didn’t give any evidence of the particular words my client allegedly shouted. There’s no barring order in place. She is seeking a safety order, which does not prevent my client from living on the premises.”
Granting bail, Judge Andrew Cody adjourned the case to 3 April and ordered the man not to reside in the home and to have no contact with the alleged injured party.
