A 46-YEAR-OLD man who subjected his wife to a violent drunken assault after the two had argued has been ordered to pay £500 compensation to his victim.

Gerard O’Kane, whose address was given as Strathmore Park South, Belfast, was charged with unlawfully assaulting his wife on April 9 this year.

O’Kane had strenuously denied the charge, but was found guilty after a contested hearing before Fermanagh Magistrates Court earlier this summer. A pre-sentence report had been prepared in the case.

At his sentencing on Monday afternoon, the court heard that, at 11.20pm, police received a report of a domestic incident at an address in Killyhevlin Park, Enniskillen. The call was made by a neighbour, who had telephoned the PSNI on behalf of the injured party.

The victim told police that there had a “verbal argument” that had led to an assault.

She alleged that the defendant, who had taken two bottles of wine and some beer, punched her in the stomach, pulled her hair and pushed her.

The injured party further claimed that O’Kane had kicked her backside and then removed the SIM card from her mobile phone to stop her from contacting anyone. He also pinned her arm against her back and pushed her forcefully to the ground.

Before fleeing to her neighbour’s house, the woman said she believed the defendant was going to break her arm.

She reported to officers that the right side of her head was sore and the right side of her body was tender due to the struggle.

The defendant was subsequently arrested and interviewed by police on the following day. He denied the allegations, the court heard.

Defending counsel, Stephen Mooney, told the court that his client continued to maintain the position that he was not guilty.

The barrister said that the offence had been committed in a “certain context”, adding that there was nothing pending against O’Kane. He outlined that the 46-year-old had suffered several bereavements and health difficulties.

Mr Mooney handed in several references to the court, which he said spoke in “glowing terms” of the defendant.

He said that the incident has had a “devastating effect” on his client, leading to the dissolution of his marriage. Access to his children has also been stymied, the barrister added.

In mitigation, Mr Mooney said that, unusually, the pre-sentence report had classed the defendant as posing a “low likelihood of re-offending”. He also said O’Kane considered violence against women to be wrong and totally unacceptable.

After reading the various references that had been submitted to the court, district judge, Nigel Broderick, observed that any incident of domestic violence had to be regarded as a serious matter.

The judge said he had been satisfied that the prosecution had proven the case beyond any reasonable doubt.

While Mr Broderick conceded that the defendant was a man of otherwise good character and had a clear record, the judge said that it was obvious the relationship had broken down and he had taken matters into his own hand and emotion got the better of him.

However, Mr Broderick stressed there were “no excuses” for O’Kane’s actions.

“Thankfully, the injuries sustained were at a lower level,” the judge added.

Referring to the pain and suffering experienced by the injured party, and the “emotional trauma of being assaulted in the context of your own home”, the judge imposed a two-month jail term on the defendant, which he then suspended for 12 months.

He also ordered O’Kane to pay £500 compensation to his victim.