A Mullingar woman who assaulted her ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend by pulling her hair and banging her head to the ground has been placed on six months probation.
Judge Aeneas McCarthy followed the direction of the Probation Service in the case of Alison Wymes of 5 Green Road, Mullingar and ordered her to return to Mullingar District Court on January 14 next year to have her case reviewed.
Mr Louis Kiernan said his client had no excuse for her actions but there had been a lot of emotion involved. She had apologised immediately.
“I can understand emotion overwhelming logic, but it’s the job of the court to assert the primacy of logic once more,” said the judge.
In April the court heard how Wymes, a single mother of one child met her ex-boyfriend’s new partner on Dominick Street in the very early hours of September 6 last year.
A scuffle took place, during which she bit the other woman’s lower lip, pulled her hair out, and behaved in a threatening manner.
The woman’s phone was also taken during the incident but was later returned.
The victim’s statement was read to the court, during which she outlined that she had seen Wymes when they had been socialising but the two women hadn’t spoken.
However, the 27-year-old attacked her from behind when they left, pulled her hair, banged her head to the ground and when her boyfriend tried to pull her off, she hit him across the head with the heel of her stiletto.
She then began taunting the other woman saying “Look what I’ve got,” referring to her handbag.
Mr Louis Kiernan said his client Ms Wymes took full responsibility for the incident and reminded the court that when charged her reply had been “I’m sorry”.
She has since apologised to her boyfriend’s new partner. Although they hadn’t met until the night of the incident, there had been text communication between them.
A combination of “alcohol and emotion” had been behind the attack which he said was out of character for his client.
He said there had been a context for the incident but that his client had learned a great lesson and was embarrassed. She would have to live with the consequences, he told the court.
She had brought €500 which she had saved from her part time work to show her contrition.
In April, Judge David Anderson described the incident as serious and said he would ordinarily consider imposing a custodial sentence in a case where someone attacks a person they have never met.
However he noted Wymes had pleaded guilty and ordered a probation report, advising that its recommendations be followed.
