Man punched his own son in the face over photo of teenage daughter in bikini – World News

A father who punched his teenage son after refusing to delete a photo of his teenage daughter in a bikini on Facebook has escaped jail.

The father-of-three, who cannot be named for legal reasons, shared an image of his daughter, then 17, online in which she was wearing a swimsuit. A court heard the photo caused a huge family row, with his daughter begging him to take it down.

After refusing to remove the image, the man's other son – the girl's brother – intervened to ask him to remove it. The father then began recording his son on his phone as the disagreement escalated, before the man grabbed the teenager and punched him on the left side of the face.

He was given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty at Naas Circuit Criminal Court, Co Kildare, to the assault on May 23, 2020. He also admitted a separate charge of breaching a security order.

The court heard the man was living in a separate property within the grounds of the family home at the time and was separated from his wife and children. He claimed to have published the photo because it was the only one he had of his daughter, reports Irish Mirror.

DPP barrister Daniel Boland BL said the man's wife was also involved when the argument broke out outside the family home, and told the court on Thursday the family “never knew which version of him she would meet. The father consumed alcohol, making those close to him feel like they were “walking on eggshells” around him, the mother told the court.

In her victim impact statement, the mother added that the bikini photo had left the girl crying “inconsolably”, fearing it would “fall into the wrong hands”, with her father “categorically” refusing to take it down. The assault left the boy feeling threatened and “in shock”, as well as suffering headaches and dizziness.

The defendant's solicitor, Willie Hughes BL, said tensions were high at the time of the offenses as the defendant was going through “a dark time” following the breakdown of his marriage. The court heard the defendant, who had no previous convictions, had reconciled with his eldest son and had weekly access to his youngest son.

He also hoped to reconcile with his daughter, the court heard, and deeply regretted sharing the photo. Judge Martina Baxter described the attack as “horrific”, expressing concern that the family's situation did not appear to have improved.

She said the father's attitude towards the breakdown of his marriage had carried over to his children. “It is completely unacceptable for an adult to behave as he did,” the judge added.

Judge Baxter sentenced the defendant to six months in prison for the assault and 12 months for breaching the security order, with the two sentences running concurrently. However, she suspended both sentences entirely for a period of 18 months on a number of conditions, including that the man place himself under the supervision of the probation service for 10 months and use any recommended drug treatment services. and anger management, if requested.