*Ennis Court
A judge has ruled that a prisoner’s contact with his five year old son be limited, for now, to sending birthday cards and Christmas cards and associated presents.
The 49-year old man isย currently on remand in custody awaiting trial at Ennis Circuit Court for the false imprisonment and assault causing harm of his partner and mother of the couple’s child at her home on September 3rd last.
During theย incident it is alleged that theย man tied the woman’s handsย with cable ties behind herย back in a downstairs bedroomย and the coupleโsย child was upstairs duringย the course of what Sgt Louis Moloney said in court in September was a โhorrifying ordealโ for the mother.
Now, during the granting of aย Safetyย Order andย limitedย access order at the Family Law Court, the man told Judge Alec Gabbett: “I canโt stress how muchย I regret what happened that night.โ
Concerning access to his son, the man asked: “I donโt get to see my son?โ and his solicitor, Shiofra Hassett said that her client is hoping for more contact thanย simply twice a year.
Ms Hassett said that her clientย was very involved in his sonโs life and contact was not limited to weekends.
Judge Gabbettย told the man:ย “Until the trial process is over, it would be in your interest to keep contact to aย minimum.”
Judge Gabbett said that sending aย birthday card and Christmas card “is aย lovely thing to doโ.
He said:ย โBut communication within those cards and presents would absolutely be kept to aย minimum. You can say to your sonย โHappy Christmas, love Dadโ – that type of thing but nothing else is to be transmitted.โ
Judge Gabbett said that he was making the preliminary access order now and in a yearโs time, “it would be appropriate to bring an access application but now it is probably notโ.
Judge Gabbett made the access order as he approved a five year Safety Order for the alleged injured party in the case against the man. The alleged injured party was also in court for the granting of the Safety Order.
Solicitor for theย woman, William Cahir said that his client was opposed to any access to the man of their son.
Ms Hassett said that her client was not opposing the Safety Order application. The man has been refused bail in the district court and the High Court ahead of his case coming before Ennis Circuit Court later this year.
Judge Gabbett said that the cards and presents are not to be sent directly from prison and be instead sent through a third party.
Mr Cahir said that the son received sketches from hisย father atย Christmas and his client viewed theย material asย โthreatening and intimidatoryโ.
Mrย Cahir handed the sketchesย into court and Judge Gabbett remarked: “He is quite the artist isnโt he?ย Theย man is using his time in prison well.โ
Theย man said that he does theย sketches as partย of therapy while in prison. Ms Hassett said that her clientย didnโt send the sketches to his son.
She said that her client sent the sketches to a family relative and it was another relative who forwarded the sketches to the manโs son as part of a Christmas present.
