Man used violence to control teen bride, court told

A young man used violence to control his teenage wife’s every move and on one occasion gave her the option of having a belt put around her neck or having her arm burned with a poker, a court has heard.

She feared for her life and opted to be burned, holding out her arm for the punishment, she told Galway District Court.

The arranged marriage in January 2013 between Dean Maughan, who was 19 at the time, and Annalise Conroy, who had just turned 16, was marred with bullying and violence from the outset, the court heard.

Maughan, of Innishannagh Park, Newcastle, Galway* denied assaulting Ms Conroy causing her harm when the couple lived in a rented house at Station Road, Oranmore on December 15th, 2014. He also denied assaulting her at the same address on March 16th last year.

He told the court he was forced to marry Ms Conroy. He said he never loved her but “respected” her because she had given him a son.

Imposing prison sentences totalling 12 months, Judge Mary Fahy said he had treated his wife like a possession, of no value other than to produce a son. Judge Fahy noted the victim was only 16 when she got married. “She was a child, but that is part of the Traveller culture.”

Fear

A tearful Ms Conroy gave evidence of fearing for her life during violent incidents throughout their brief marriage.

She said their son was just a few months old when her husband became angry and attacked her on December 15th, 2014.

“He gave me a choice to either have a belt put around my neck or hold out my hand and have it burned,” she said. “When given the option, I put my hand out and he burned me on the hand and then he burned me on the leg too. He put the poker in the fire first and then burned me.”

She said she was in a lot of pain but he would not allow her go to a doctor or get any treatment for her injuries. “He was very controlling. He wouldn’t let me contact my family. I had a small, black phone when I met him first but he broke it.”

Ms Conroy said he wanted her to disown her family. “My sister, who had special needs, died and when I came back from the funeral in Ballinrobe, he gave me a very bad beating.”

Maughan told the court he was forced into marriage by the girl’s parents.

“It was an arranged marriage. I didn’t want to marry the girl. I met her by texting her on Blackberry messaging and I brought her to Galway for the Volvo Ocean Race. Her parents reckoned we had run away and they wanted us to marry,” he said.

Maughan denied burning her with a poker in December 2014. “I was after paying for an expensive holiday to Orlando. I brought her to Turkey a couple of months after we married, then in 2014 I brought her to Orlando for Valentine’s Day,” he said.

‘Domestic violence’

Judge Fahy said the victim was very young and it was “unfortunate” she did not tell her family what was happening.

“But we hear, all through our society, and not just in relation to the Travelling community — it’s in all strata of society — that women are assaulted and abused and in some instances, it’s treated by the Garda as just domestic violence, but in this case thankfully, the gardai treated it as seriously as possible and brought charges,” the judge said.

“This man was a bully, totally controlling his wife. She had no phone, She was bossed around the place. The only reason he stayed with her was because of the child. He said he never loved her. It’s very, very serious.

“What’s most serious, apart from the assaults, is his attitude towards her.

“He brought her to Turkey and to Orlando, treating her like she was a possession, of no value other than to produce a son.

“Anyone in our society with that attitude needs to be re-educated in a very serious manner and he needs to be re-educated too,” Judge Fahy said.

She sentenced Maughan to six months in prison for the first assault and imposed a consecutive six-month sentence on him for the second attack. Leave to appeal the sentences was granted.

Judge Fahy imposed a condition that should Maughan appeal the sentences, he was to make no contact with the complainant or any member of her family by any means.

* This article was edited to remove an incorrect address on March 30th, 2016.