Man jailed for ‘unsettling and frightening’ attack on woman in her own home

A man who attempted to strangle a woman and covered her mouth and nose with a curtain in her County Donegal home has been jailed for four years.

Christopher Rice was sentenced over the terrifying attack on a young woman in her home in October 2024.

Rice, who has 65 previous convictions, can now be identified following his sentencing at Letterkenny Circuit Court.

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The 35-year-old Rice, who has been behind bars for most of the time since his arrest for the incident last October, previously pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm.

He was also charged with false imprisonment, non-fatal strangulation, assault and a second assault causing harm count - all against the same victim - and these charges were marked as taken into consideration.

The court was told that the guilty plea, which was entered on a trial date earlier this summer, was accepted by the State on a full facts basis. 

Rice, wearing a white shirt and jeans, sat in the dock as Judge Roderick Maguire handed down the sentence.

Judge Maguire said the incident must have been terrifying for the woman, who was 20 at the time and in a relationship with the accused man. 

“This was the home that she shared with him and this was the place that should have been a sanctuary,” Judge Maguire said. The judge described the incident as “unsettling and frightening” and said it contained a variety of violence.

Judge Maguire set a headline sentence of six years imprisonment, noting Rice’s relevant previous convictions and that the incident occurred in the victim’s home as well as the “comprehensive nature of the assault”.

In mitigation, Judge Maguire said Rice tendered an early plea, and was cooperative. A letter submitted by Rice was said to be “very valuable” by Judge Maguire, who said that the accused man has had “a hard life”, but had been a productive member of society and in employment in spite of a long history of offending.

Rice was sentenced to four years in prison with the term back-dated to when he went into custody and credit to be given for all time served.

Sergeant Maurice Doyle of Letterkenny Garda Station previously outlined the case to Ms Fiona Crawford BL, barrister for the State.

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Ms Crawford said that under section 40 of the Domestic Violence Act, 2018, a relationship between a defendant and a victim would be an aggravating factor in sentencing.

Sergeant Doyle told how Gardai attended the scene on October 26, 2024 and a woman outlined that she was out with the man and her father earlier in the night.

She told Gardai that the man shouted at her, called her names and made allegations to her.

Rice grabbed her by the back of the head, trailed her into a bedroom and threw her onto a bed. As the woman fell, she grabbed a curtain and it fell on top of her.

Rice jumped on her, placed his two hands on her throat. He took one hand off, reached for a curtain and put it over the woman’s mouth and nose.

“She couldn’t breathe,” Sergeant Doyle said, adding that Rice started to punch her on the face. While she attempted to bang on a window, Rice kicked her on the back and stood on her legs.

As she tried to make an escape, Rice again pulled her back and trailed her by the hair. He was also said to have punched her on the ribs and stomach.

Later on, Rice trailed her across the garden outside the house before a neighbour attempted to intervene.

The victim attended the emergency department at Letterkenny University Hospital after being taken by ambulance. The woman did not stay in the ED so there was no physical examination.

Sergeant Doyle said the woman is now living outside this jurisdiction and it is “very difficult to get in contact with her”. He said the woman did not wish to make a victim impact statement or give evidence in the case.

Mr Damien Crawford BL, barrister for the defendant, instructed by solicitor Mr Patsy Gallagher, said his client and the woman were residing at the property at the time. 

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When Rice was granted bail, that was subsequently revoked as he was spotted near to where the woman was living. Mr Crawford said the pair were living together as a couple.

A letter from the accused man was handed into Judge Maguire and Mr Crawford told the court that his client has “had a difficult life”. 

He said Rice had gained employment as a tree surgeon prior to his incarceration and had taught himself to write.

He said Rice has little or no memory of the incident in question and added: “He is puzzled as to why he was intoxicated to the extent that he was. He is hugely remorseful and deeply apologetic.

“The results have been very catastrophic for him.”

Mr Crawford said the man has been in custody for a “solid eight months” now. 

“He is cognisant that his record isn’t good,” Mr Crawford said. “He is anxious to re-assemble his family and get his life back together. He feels very ashamed that he got into an episode like this.”