Abusive Wakefield partner who dished out daily beatings kicked woman in the face repeatedly
A convicted thug who would mete out daily abuse to his partner after being given a restraining order was jailed again after a brutal assault when she tried to escape from him.
Darren McTiernan was jailed in 2023 for attacking the woman, but resumed their relationship soon after his release.
However, he quickly reverted back to his abusive ways culminating in the savage attack outside his home when he repeatedly kicked the woman in the head after knocking her to the ground.
He was jailed again at Leeds Crown Court this week after admitting a charge of ABH, criminal damage and breach of a restraining order.
Prosecutor Emma Noble said the couple had been together for four years. McTiernan has 27 previous convictions for 93 offences, culminating in a sentence in 2023 for actual bodily harm, coercive control, common assault and criminal damage against the woman.
He was given a five-year restraining order to keep him away from her, but he ignored the court order and rekindled the relationship on his release.
The 49-year-old was physically and verbally abusive and assaulted her “daily”, Ms Noble said. He would accuse her of cheating and tell her she “ruined lives”.
On April 28 she was at his home on Mill Lane, Ryhill, Wakefield, trying to sleep when he again accused her of cheating. She turned over and ignored him but he grabbed her by the hair forcing her to turn and face him.
Verbally abusing her, she got up and left the property but McTiernan followed. Turning into a ginnel near his house, she heard footsteps from behind before he struck her to the back of her head.
Falling to the floor, he then began aiming kicks to her face. He then grabbed her by the arm and marched her back to his address.
Once back inside, he punched her to the face and tried to pin her to a wall but was disturbed by another person in the property. He continued to accuse her of cheating and threw her phone at the wall, smashing the screen.
He was later arrested and largely gave a no-comment interview to police, but said she used self harm to manipulate him.
In a victim impact statement the woman said her anxiety had “gone through the roof” and fears she is unable to escape him.
McTiernan appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds.
Mitigating on his behalf, Mollie Briggs said: “He accepts an immediate custodial sentence is inevitable. There’s very little I can say. There’s no excuse for his behaviour and he knows that.
“It’s clearly a very unpleasant set of circumstances.”
She said his best mitigation were his early guilty pleas.
The judge, Recorder Simon Jackson KC told McTiernan: “It’s an appalling way to treat somebody who you resumed a relationship with.”
He jailed him for 30 months and made the restraining order indefinite.