Suspended sentence for teen who bit ex-partner’s nose

A 19-year-old man has been handed a suspended prison sentence for assaulting his ex-partner on two separate occasions.

Daniel Coyle, of Stoneburn Place in the city, admitted two counts of common assault on February 1 and March 24, 2021.

A Public Prosecution Service (PPS) representative told Derry Magistrate’s Court that a 999 call was received on February 1 when it was reported that a man had assaulted his partner in the Currynierin area of the city.

The injured party was located and she told officers that Coyle threw her to the ground causing a cut and swollen lip.

During police interview Coyle said it was a verbal argument and denied a physical altercation.

He didn’t know how the injured party ended up with a cut lip, the PPS representative explained.

According to the public prosecutor, the same victim’s mother rang police on March 24 saying Coyle assaulted her daughter after accusing her of flirting with other males.

A PPS representative said the 19-year-old threw his girlfriend to the floor and ‘bit her nose’.

Males present at the time were not willing to provide a statement.

Coyle again denied that any altercation took place.

The court was told that the defendant had no previous criminal record at all.

Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley said the defendant and his ex-partner are young people who fell out every time alcohol was taken and often ‘fought like cat and dog’.

He explained that in the past his client has made counter allegations that were never proceeded with.

Mr Quigley described Coyle as a ‘vulnerable adult’ who attended a ‘special school’ and as such has ‘intellectual difficulties’.

Ten days spent in custody would be a ‘fairly sobering’ experience for the 19-year-old who has never been in that environment before, he added.

Deputy District Judge McCourt gave the defendant a three month prison sentence suspended for two years. 

Coyle was advised that if he stays out of trouble in that time he will not serve any custodial sentence but if he’s back before the court in the next two years for any further offences the term can be activated on top of any new sentence.