Businessman jailed for kicking his mother's head with a steel-toed shoe

A Dublin businessman who hit the mother of two children in the head with his steel shoes during a vicious badault was sentenced to four years in prison.

The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has learned that Joseph Fraser (42) has been dating this woman for a few months while traveling to her house in a state of drunkenness.

Detective Gda Robert Collins testified that the injured party had hidden the keys to Fraser's car to prevent him from driving again and causing an accident.

Fraser became angry at this and began to hit the woman's ribs, face and head during an attack that crossed the hallway, kitchen and backyard.

On September 19, 2017, the father of six children from Mount Eagle Drive in Leopardstown pleaded guilty to badaulting Foxborough Downs, Lucan, Dublin. He has already been convicted of impaired driving.

Detective Gda Collins told Ronan Kennedy BL, who was suing, that the woman had tried to lock herself in the dog's cage in the garden to escape the badault.

Fraser dragged her home through her hair, slapped her face through sliding doors, and kicked her in the head with her steel shoe.

Justice Melanie Greally today underlined the "extreme violence" perpetrated by Fraser against her ex-partner.

She imposed a four-year suspended sentence at 18 months, based on her guilty plea, past work history, and recent efforts to deal with her alcohol problems.

Tom Neville BL, in defense, had stated that there had been a "confluence of events" in his client's life that had led to the attack, including the bankruptcy of his Fraser oil company , two broken relationships and his search for a safe haven for alcohol.

Justice Greally stated that Fraser was "no different than a very large number of people involved in business during the period in question".

"It does not really reduce the presence of mustard as a mitigating factor in cases of extreme violence," she said.

According to detective Gda Collins, the injured party, describing the attack, told Gardaí that "on a scale of one to ten, the pain was eleven".

The woman finally fled to a neighbor's house to call Gardaí. After the badault, she realized that her house key, car key, mobile phone and some personal belongings were missing.

Detective Gda Collins provided photos to Judge Greally showing the woman's wounds, including two black eyes and pictures of where Fraser had hit the kitchen door in half. He stated that Fraser had been arrested the same day for an unrelated public order case and that during his interview he had stated that the injured party had attacked him.

The woman in her impact statement on the victim stated that she was now rarely in contact with people and that she had flashbacks during the attack at her home. She said that the bruises in her leg had lasted for months and that the skin of her eye had recently disappeared.

She described the impact of this attack on her children and her parents.

Detective Gda Collins agreed with Mr. Neville that the guilty plea had spared the woman more distress and that her physical injuries had healed since.

Mr. Neville argued that Fraser wished his letter of apology to be sent to the injured party. The lawyer described his client's extensive work history and how he had implemented Fraser Oil with his father.

Mr. Neville testified that his client was found in a "wrong place", while acknowledging that his personal situation and serious mental health issues did not warrant his actions.

Greally JA suspended the last 18 months of his sentence on the condition that Fraser complete a victim-focused work and collaborate with MOVE (Men Overcoming Violent Emotions).

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