‘Pick a finger or a toe’ assault man still a high risk after attacks on ex-girlfriends

Ben Curry, 24, of Fossagh, Mount Temple, Moate, Co Westmeath, has been warned he faces a possible seven-year sentence but had his case adjourned until November pending psychological assessments.

He pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and threatening to kill his first female victim at Gate Lodge Apartments, Willow Park, Athlone, Co Westmeath on January 1, 2023.

Curry held a knife to her face and said he would “cut off her finger to stop her texting boys”.

He also admitted another attack and robbing the next woman on May 22, 2023, at the rear of Athlone Town Shopping Centre when she met him to break it off after a brief relationship.

Curry, who has been in custody on remand for year, appeared at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court today.

Judge Keenan Johnson heard from forensic psychiatric reports that Curry, who had been placed into care at the age of four, had been diagnosed as having anger-management issues stemming from childhood abuse and abandonment. He said Curry had gone off the rails from the age of 20.

He also noted that a probation report had been furnished and said the court cannot release him while he remains a high-risk of re-offending.

Defence barrister Andrea Callan said the court had ordered 10 therapeutic sessions with a psychologist ahead of sentencing but funding was not available for all of them through legal aid. She said Probation Service could facilitate them if he was moved from Castlerea Prison to a Dublin prison.

Judge Johnson adjourned the case for the accused to arrange a transfer, an updated probation report, and for Curry to complete the counselling ordered by the court.

Earlier, described the incidents as “disgusting, disturbing and obnoxious” and said the level of violence was concerning.

He has said he would consider terms totalling seven years but backdate them to when Curry went into custody on remand. He has also told Curry he may suspend the remaining portion for five years, however, he has stressed that the indicative sentences were subject to positive reports and ongoing engagement with treatment programmes.

Curry has been getting on well in custody and attended music classes, which helped calm him, the court also heard.

The defence had said the incidents were “shocking” but submitted they left Curry overcome with remorse, so much so that he could not address the court.

The court heard Curry was couch surfing at the time of the first attack on the young woman who was in student accommodation and who had taken him in.

She had been having a shower while he looked at her phone and allegedly saw she had been texting an ex-boyfriend.

The court heard he told her to get out of the shower, got aggressive, punched a hole in the wall and caused €1500 of damage. Curry “slapped her in the face, put his arm around her and lifted her off the floor”.

He dropped her onto a bed and punched and slapped her in the face.

The court heard he then left and turned with a kitchen knife and told her, “Pick a finger or a toe”, and at this stage, she was screaming.

“He held the blunt side of the knife to her face and said he would cut off her finger to stop her texting boys,” the court heard.

When he calmed down, she managed to get out of the apartment and rang her mother from a local shop.

Photos of the injuries Curry inflicted were furnished to the court.

The court heard during the second attack, Curry, who was on bail at the time, met the young woman at Athlone Town Centre after she had already tried to tell him via Snapchat that she did not want to see him again.

Curry pushed her onto the ground, head-butted, punched and kneed her in the face, and took her €900 iPhone. The court heard she was bleeding because “her piercings had been pulled from her ear”, and she suffered swelling.

Earlier, Judge Johnson said the incident went on for 40 minutes, which must have been terrifying for that young woman who provided a victim impact statement.

In it, she outlined how she is in “constant fear”, has trust issues and “hated the way she looked after the assault”.

The judge considered that Curry’s guilty pleas spared the two women having to give evidence and being questioned in court.

Curry, who also had an address in Co. Carlow, also admitted involvement in three violent disorder incidents in Longford and Athlone on other dates. He had six prior convictions for drug possession, carrying a knife, trespassing, threat to kill or cause serious harm and production of an article in a dispute, and had already received two-year sentence.