A MAN who, in a “jealous rage”, set fire to a car close to where his estranged wife and two children were sleeping, has been jailed for four and half years.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the other parties involved, pleaded guilty before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to one count of arson, one count of possession of a hatchet, and one count of breaching a protection order in respect of his ex-wife and children.
The man used an axe to damage the car, the court heard, which was parked outside a house in the Limerick area, and then set the vehicle alight using a can of petrol and a rag.
The car belonged to a man whom the woman was in a relationship with at the time, the court heard.
A neighbour raised the alarm, and, having quickly responded, Gardaí discovered the defendant nearby in his car asleep next to an axe.
The man was subject to a barring order in respect of his family at the time, it was heard.
The car, including two child seats, was destroyed in the fire, causing €3,000 worth of damage.
In a victim impact statement, which was read in court on her behalf, the woman described how she remains afraid to leave her home, has trouble sleeping, and is constantly afraid someone will break in to her house.
“The children’s bedroom is right over where (the arson) happened, and I am afraid of him and what he might try and do to me in the future,” the statement read.
“I have trouble sleeping and have nightmares, I have the feeling someone is watching me.”
The man’s barrister, junior counsel Yvonne Quinn, said the man was “jealous” of his estranged wife as she was in another relationship at the time.
“He said he was sorry, emotionally overcome, and that he did it in a fit of rage,” Ms Quinn told the court.
“He said this (other) man was in his house with his children, he said he didn’t want to hurt anyone, he said he wanted to show her he was angry.”
Judge Daly said arson is a “very serious” criminal offence due to the “unpredictable nature” of fire.
The judge said he had to take into account the “risk of it spreading and causing serious harm, particularly to the occupants of the house, and others, including members of the emergency services that responded to the scene”.
The judge described the defendant’s actions as “utterly reckless”, adding that the woman and her two children “were asleep in the house at the time. He fled the scene but not very far and it appears he had been driving when he was disqualified.”
Judge Daly said that while the arson attack occurred “in the context of a marriage breakdown”, this was no excuse for the defendant.
The judge said that, in mitigation, he took into consideration the man’s guilty plea, his apology to the victims, as well as his apparent “genuine remorse and regret”.
On the arson attack, Judge Daly imposed a four-and-half-year jail sentence, reduced from a headline sentence of six years, and backdated it to 2024, when the man was arrested and had remained in custody on remand awaiting sentence.
The judge took into consideration the offences of possession of the axe and the breach of the barring order.
