Clare man jailed for sexual assault and 'insidious' coercive control of his former partner

A woman subjected to coercive control and sexual assault by her former partner has told a court he caused harm “for his own amusement”. 

Martin Gooney pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to coercive control and sexual assault.

The court heard that the victim wishes to retain her anonymity, but has no difficulty with Gooney, aged 28, of Cappabane, Scariff, County Clare, being identified.

At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Gooney was handed a sentence of three years and two months' imprisonment. A post-release supervision order of 12 months was also imposed.

Reading her victim impact statement during an earlier hearing, the woman stated that she checks her surroundings to see if Gooney is present and constantly questions her safety.

“The gaslighting was so relentless, he made me believe I was losing my mind and losing control of my being”.

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She said his “cruel” words and actions affected her sense of self-worth, and it has taken years to make progress, but his behaviour “completely warped my perception of myself”.

The woman said she has developed trust issues and dreads starting a new relationship.

“To compare him to an animal is an insult to the animal kingdom,” she said. “This man caused harm for his own amusement”.

Evidence was outlined that Gooney and the woman's relationship was initially fine, but over time, his behaviour became controlling and abusive towards her.

In August 2019, Gooney took her phone and used it to send messages to his phone. In these messages, he pretended to be the woman and suggested she was experiencing suicidal ideation.

He then deleted all the messages sent between his phone and the woman's phone. She did not know the contents of these messages.

Gooney sent these messages, which purported to be from the woman to her mother.

He also used these messages during arguments with the woman, saying, “Watch what you say, have messages from your phone”.

In early 2020, he found takeaway wrappers in her bin and accused her of seeing another man. The court heard the woman's mother had brought her a takeaway.

Gooney was also verbally abusive to the victim, calling her a “bitch”, “whore” and “tramp”.

During 2020, Gooney, who was no longer living with the woman, insisted she send him photos or Facetime him so he knew her location. On one occasion, the woman's friend had to send him a video to show she was with her.

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Gooney also placed a sofa in the woman's shed – without her knowledge – so he could stay and watch her. The woman wasn't initially aware that Gooney was staying in her shed.

He sexually assaulted her in March 2021. Afterwards, Gooney told her he “wouldn’t touch you with riddle stick, wouldn’t know what you had, you're a whore”. 

The court heard there were other incidents of sexual assault.

Gooney also said he was going to hang the woman's dog from a tree. 

The accused man has nine previous convictions, including for road traffic offences, assault and making a threat to kill or cause serious harm.

When interviewed by gardai, Gooney denied any wrongdoing.

Gooney took the stand and read a letter of apology to the woman. He said he was “sorry for the hassle caused” during their relationship.

He said he was “young and stupid” and “selfish”. 

The 28-year-old said he never thought about how his actions would make the woman feel or how they would hurt her.

He told his defence counsel he was prepared to engage with the Probation Services and any suitable programmes.

Vincent Heneghan SC, prosecuting, asked Gooney, “was the way [the woman] was feeling not obvious to you?”. He replied: “No”.

A man gave character evidence on behalf of Gooney. He began his evidence by telling the court that his family and Gooney's “are highly respected and thought of in our communities”.

He said Gooney was a friend of his son's. “He’s always been good to us”.

He described Gooney as an “outstanding machine driver” and a hard worker. He added that he was aware of an incident in 2020 where Gooney saved a woman's life.

The man told Mr Heneghan that he knew of Gooney's relationship with the woman, but did not know about the defendant's behaviour towards her. “No, it wasn’t brought to my attention”.

Imposing sentence, Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said the woman’s victim impact statement was “very profound and compelling”.

She noted that the woman felt she was “in constant fight or flight mode” and “was convinced she was unworthy of love”.

Referencing a letter of apology from Gooney, she noted he said he is “sorry from the bottom of his heart” and added “you did not deserve it”.

Ms Justice Biggs said the woman had tried both “physically and verbally” to stop Gooney, but he behaved as if “she was his”.

“He behaved in a way that demeaned her,” the judge said, adding that he was aggressive in the way he treated the woman.

She noted the “profound, damaging and long-lasting” impact Gooney’s actions had on the woman.

Ms Justice Biggs described the coercive control as “menacing, insidious, intimidating and systematic”. 

She noted that a probation report stated that he was at a moderate risk of re-offending and was willing to engage with the Probation Service. 

Ms Justice Biggs imposed concurrent terms of three years and two months for the sexual assault offences and two years and six months for the coercive control. 

She noted that the woman had previously indicated that the gardaí who assisted her in the prosecution of the case treated her with “genuine kindness and the utmost care”.

Ms Justice Biggs said she was very happy to hear that the woman had been supported in this way by the gardaí.