By Brion Hoban

A father-of-three who fractured his partner’s nose during a “sustained episode of violence” has been jailed for two years.

Dubliner Gareth McCarton (29) dragged his partner Shannon Mahon out of bed, said he would kill her and proceeded to hit, bite and choke her until gardaí intervened.

McCarton of Suncroft Drive, Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm at his address on April 13, 2020. His five previous convictions include convictions for possession of a realistic firearm and road traffic offences.

Garda John Doran said that on the date in question at approximately 6.15am he attended at the scene to find McCarton and the victim engaged in “a heated argument” outside the address and had to stand between them.

Gda Doran said McCarton shouted that he did not care that gardaí were there and that when they leave “wait and see what happens”. No complaint was made and gardaí left the scene.

Gardaí returned around 30 minutes later after receiving reports of screaming coming from the house. Ms Mahon, who had blood and bruises on her face, called from an upstairs window and asked gardai to enter the house quickly because the accused was assaulting her.

McCarton was coming down the stairs when gardaí entered and was arrested. He was not wearing a t-shirt and “a large amount of blood” was on his body, hands and knuckles.

Ms Mahon told gardaí the previous night she had been sitting in the attic of the house with the accused and another man. While the accused was elsewhere, this other man said something like that they would run away to Vegas together and she jokingly agreed she would.

She told gardaí that McCarton later pulled her out of bed, said he was going to kill her and accused her “of all sorts of things” including that she had said she would run away to Vegas with the other man. He punched her all over her body, choked her and bit her arms and back.

Gardaí observed Ms Mahon had a large amount of bruising to her face following the incident, as well as bruises and bite marks to other parts of her body. She was later diagnosed with a fractured nasal bone.

In a letter read out in court McCarton apologised for the crime, saying it was “totally out of my character” and that he had taken crack cocaine for the first time before the offence.

Judge Melanie Greally said the offence was “undoubtedly a very violent and sustained episode of violence” and jailed him for two years.

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