Kildare man sentenced to 11 years for brutal assault on ex-partner

A Kildare man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after he permanently injured his ex-partner in a “ferocious assault”. The assault took place after the attacker, Anthony Mockler, of Station Road, Co Kildare, locked the woman in a taxi with him. Despite the gardaí, taxi driver and others surrounding the taxi urging him to stop, the attack lasted 10 minutes.

Repeatedly banging the victim’s head off the car’s interior, Mockler told her he would “destroy her face”. Hair and blood were left all over the vehicle following numerous blows to the woman’s head and face. A plastic surgeon has stated that the scars she suffered will be permanently visible.

Despite being the subject of a safety order forbidding Mockler from approaching his former partner, he followed her after spotting her outside a nightclub in Naas on the night of the 5th of November, 2023. He then forced her into the taxi he had arrived in and locked everyone else outside. The driver later described Mockler as being in a drunken rage on the journey there.

Handing down the sentence on Friday at the Circuit Criminal Court in Naas, Judge Martina Baxter stated Mockler treated his ex “like a possession to control and abuse.” His behaviour included harassing her with “crude, sordid and distasteful” text messages, threatening to murder her and also threatening to kill himself, stating it would be her fault if he did.

Mockler has been convicted nine previous times, one due to a burglary he carried out on the woman’s family home. While Judge Baxter acknowledged that the accused had submitted a guilty plea early, she was unsure whether he was genuinely remorseful in light of his “angry, controlling and dangerous behaviour”.

The Court acknowledged the victim’s bravery as she expressed her eagerness to leave the incident in her past. On top of a thirteen-year prison sentence, with the final two years suspended, upon release, Mockler is bound for three years to stay away from his former partner, refrain from alcohol and drugs, keep the peace and undergo any courses advised by probation services.

If you’ve been impacted by domestic violence or assault, reach out to our solicitors for confidential support by Free Phone at 1800-844-104 or email us at [email protected].