Man waged ‘regime of terror’ against now former wife

A man who waged a “regime of fear and terror” against his now former wife is to be sentenced next week after the judge in the case said that he needs more time to consider the structure of the sentence to be handed down.

Derry native, Paul Harkin(49), with a former address at Kilchreest, Loughrea, Co Galway, pleaded guilty before Galway Circuit Criminal Court last January to knowingly and persistently engaging in behaviour that was controlling or coercive on a date unknown between June 24th and August 13th last year at an unknown location, which had a serious effect on a woman who is or was his spouse, and the behaviour was such that a reasonable person would consider it likely to have a serious effect on a relevant person, contrary to section 39 (1) and (3) of the Domestic Violence Act, 2018.

The court heard Harkin was married for ten years to Fiona Clarke prior to him being remanded in custody last September.

Harkin, the court heard, had at one point told the couple’s nine-year-old daughter that chopping up her Mummy would be “as easy as chopping a tomato”.

On another occasion, he had told the girl and her seven-year-old brother how he would dismember their Mummy’s body and put it in a box if she didn’t behave and do as she was told.

In her victim impact statement, which Ms Clarke read to the court, she said she felt fear and dread inside her every day before Harkin was taken into custody.

“I now see the control Paul had over me. I was too immersed in everything at the time to realise the seriousness of what was happening,” she said.

“I knew what he was doing wasn’t right but I was afraid of the consequences of going against him. It was fear of the alternative threat that made me compliant.

“Paul threatened that if I went against him he he would hurt my (extended) family. I felt I was responsible, not only for myself, but for the safety of 12 other people.

“I thought I was doing right by staying together. I thought I could cope with anything as long as our two children were okay. I asked Paul a few times in the past to leave but he wouldn’t.

“On July 27th last year, Paul threatened to chop me up and put me in a box. He said I needed to learn to behave,” she said.

Sentence had been adjourned until Tuesday for the preparation of up-to-date psychiatric and probation reports.

Judge Rory McCabe placed the headline sentence at four-and-a-half years which he said, reflected the gravity of the offence, which carried a maximum tariff of five years.

Taking the early plea, Harkin’s expression of remorse, and his intention to leave the jurisdiction and go to Derry as mitigating factors, Judge McCabe said the sentence he had in mind was three years.

However, he said he was not ready to finalise the structure of that sentence until next week as this was a complex matter and he needed more time to consider the reports before the court.