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AN OMAGH man who repeatedly strangled his partner and filmed her eating food off the floor has been jailed for five years.
Forty-one-year-old Barry Maguire, originally from Castleview Crescent was sentenced at Dungannon Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to five counts of strangulation and one count of domestic abuse. The offences relate to a period of domestic abuse between September 5 and November 30, 2023.
Maguire originally pleaded guilty to the offences a week before the trial was to commence on May 13 of this year.
The victim said that the psychological abuse by Maguire has had a ‘lasting impact’ on her. His Honour, judge Brian Sherrard, told the court that Maguire and the victim first met at an alcohol rehabilitation centre in June 2023 and quickly found themselves in a relationship.
They moved in together at Maguire’s home address in Omagh but by September he relapsed and became verbally abusive to his partner.
The victim returned to Derry for work during the week but spent the weekends with Maguire, however his violent behaviour escalated.
He would sent her aggressive texts and voice-messages, accessed her bank account and became jealous when she socialised with other people.
However the full extent of the abuse wasn’t discovered until November 30 when police were alerted to an ongoing disturbance at his address.
When police arrived the victim emerged from the house and was taken to the South West Acute Hospital, where multiple bruises across her body were noted.
Later on December 1 she was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital where it was noted that her voice was strained and she had difficulty swallowing.
She then disclosed that Maguire had repeatedly strangled her, starting on November 12, when he pushed her to the ground after becoming jealous of her social interactions.
Whilst on the ground, he covered her nose and mouth with his hand, restricting her breathing for 30 seconds, letting her breathe for 10 seconds, and covering her mouth again on a cycle of ‘10 to 11 times’.
He then grabbed her throat, stopping her breathing, with his left hand and said he had to ‘train her’ and ‘show (his) power’.
During this, he called her ‘evil’, and told her he was ‘taking control’.
Then on November 30 whilst eating take-out food Maguire tossed the victims meal onto the floor and made her get down and eat the chips off the floor, videoing the incident.
Whilst on the ground he put his ‘whole body weight’ on her and choked her with his forearm telling her he was going to kill her, spitting on her as he did so.
Judge Sherrard read from the victim impact statement provided by the woman, who said she suffers from ‘lasting psychological impact’ and anxiety.
She also stated that she still feels the restriction in her breathing when she is nervous.
By way of mitigation Maguire – who was represented by counsels Ian Turkington, Damien Hallerion, and solicitor Patrick Roche – was said to have witnessed domestic abuse as a child himself alongside alcoholism running in his family.
Maguire was assessed as having a ‘high likelihood’ of reoffending by probation and was deemed to have ‘high culpability’ by the court, but was not assessed as dangerous.
Judge Sherrard said that the harm caused was ‘all too apparent’ and that the offences were aggravated by the derogation of his partner, her vulnerabilities and that it occurred under the influence of alcohol.
Maguire was sentenced to five years imprisonment, half to be served in custody and half on licence.
