A man from Wexford has received a suspended 18-month sentence for attacking his wife and been instructed to transfer his stake in their shared house to her.
John Sheridan, 70, was found guilty on four charges of assault causing bodily injury, and three charges of assault causing harm to his wife, Ann Sheridan, 64. The attacks took place between January 1st, 1994 and June 30th, 2002. Despite pleading not guilty, a jury at The Central Criminal Court convicted him following a trial earlier in the year.
The pair tied the knot in 1990 after Mrs Sheridan responded to an advert in Ireland’s Own magazine described a “quiet man”. Their relationship had been fraught with issues from the start. Unhappy with her culinary skills, Sheridan frequently verbally attacked her.
The physical violence began a year after their son was born in 1993. On one occasion, while she was expecting, he flung a bedroom locker at her, which she narrowly escaped. According to the court, the assaults were a two times a week occurrence, leaving her with concealed bruises and injuries.
The physical abuse escalated to Sheridan punching her with a closed fist after their daughter was born in 1997. Following her recovery, he would then administer what he referred to as ‘a renewal’. He derogatorily labelled her as “a leppy” due to her epilepsy, attributing her bruises to the condition.
The court heard that during one incident, as she was breastfeeding their younger child, he delivered a “rabbit punch”, which the court explained as a country term for a punch with a closed fist. On another occasion, while she was with her two children, he advanced towards her. As she attempted to flee, he kicked her in the tailbone with his steel-capped boot.
During the police interrogation, he confessed to striking his wife although he refuted allegations of kicking her. It was noted in court that he had a clean criminal record previously.
The suffered woman expressed in her account of impact that she had been subjected to abuse since the very beginning of their decade-long marriage.
“The agony has lingered on and continues,” she expressed. “I am a mere shadow of the woman I once was.”
She revealed that she lacked autonomy during her marriage, and that total compliance was expected from her. As is often said, ‘Love, obey and respect.’
Colman Cody SC, the defending counsel, scrutinised Gda O’ Connell, who concurred that Sheridan was now involved in a separate relationship and not in contact with his progeny.
She also agreed with the contention that he cooperated with the police and conceded that he had attacked her on several occasions, although emphasising it was always with an open hand, countering accusations of kicking her.
Referring to the fact that Sheridan had lost his familial ties with his former spouse, Colman remarked that penalties have already ensued.
He questioned the court regarding the wherewithal of imprisoning an older man.
Justice Siobhan Lankford identified a repetitive pattern of abuse, which she identified as coercive control, helping to establish his accountability for attacks on his then-wife.
She discerned that he was a transformed individual, involved in a two-decade-long supportive relationship with a new partner.
She observed that there was neither a guilty plea nor any explicit expression of regret. Nonetheless, she stated that incarceration would not serve any purpose. She mandated that Sheridan forfeit his share in the family residence to his wife and declared that this provision would enable him to receive a suspended sentence.
Justice Siobhan Lankford announced a starting term of three years for the assaults, which was then mitigated to an 18-month term, and subsequently, wholly suspended.