A Portadown man who punched a woman in front of her children after getting angry at a video game has been jailed for three months.
Ian Wright, of Hartfield Avenue, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Friday via videolink from Maghaberry for sentencing.
The 35-year-old was charged with common assault and disorderly behaviour.
The court was told that on April 8 this year, police were tasked to an address in Portadown following a report of a domestic incident, after which the defendant had fled the property.
Police were told that the defendant had been getting “worked up and aggressive” while playing video games, and had been swearing in front of children present in the room.
A verbal argument began when the injured party asked the defendant to go outside, before he allegedly punched her in the nose with his right fist.
The injured party sustained a nosebleed and “felt dizzy” as a result of the incident, which occurred with children in the room.
The defendant was later located and arrested on West Street and was shouting and swearing in the street. He then denied the incident at interview.
John McAtamney, defending, described the incident as “not a very pleasant situation” given that it had taken place in front of the children.
However, he explained that this was the first domestic violence assault that the defendant, who has a “limited enough record”, had been convicted of.
He then noted that Wright has been “able to stay out of trouble for long periods of time”, noting that his first sets of offences were between 2003 and 2004, with the next one being in 2020.
District Judge Bernie Kelly described the charges as “serious matters”.
She commented: “I find it almost impossible to believe that someone who is nearly 36 years-of-age would get themselves that worked up over a video game.
“If it was a child who was behaving like that over a video game, you’d be switching the machine off and disconnecting the internet and telling them to go to their room and calm down.”
She added: “The fact that this occurred to the mother of those children in their presence is a seriously aggravating feature.”
Taking into account his guilty plea and previous record, District Judge Kelly imposed a sentence of three months in custody, alongside a restraining order in favour of the injured party for a period of two years.
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