Louth man jailed for beating his pregnant partner with an iron bar

A 25-year-old man who poured bleach and heating oil over his eight months pregnant partner, and beat her with an iron bar, has been jailed for six years at Dundalk Circuit Court.

Matthew King with an address at the time at Rassan, Hackballscross, County Louth pleaded guilty to non-fatal strangulation, assault causing harm, false imprisonment and production of a metal bar on April 24th 2024.

The court heard the attack happened at Rassan where the defendant was living in a caravan, after they were dropped there by a taxi.

The driver subsequently told investigating gardaí that the couple had an argument en route and the defendant seemed to be under the influence of something and “wasn’t treating her well”.

During the assault, the defendant choked and strangled the woman and told her she would not see her family again.

The defendant then beat her about the legs with a metal bar, before he poured bleach on her head and then poured heating oil over her.

He urinated on the woman when she refused to perform a sex act on him.

The victim woke up to find the caravan was on fire and she managed to climb out a window.

The pair stayed in another caravan that night and the next day the pair went to a filling station in south Armagh, where the defendant threw a bin at the shop window and tried to set a bag of coal outside it on fire.

The PSNI subsequently took the woman to the border where they met gardaí and a friend persuaded her to make a complaint.

The woman suffered cuts to her body, black eyes and had an acute kidney injury, and while she was very concerned for her unborn child, it was born with no ill effects.

The victim said she thought she was going to die and while there was no pattern of violence in the relationship, which ended as a result of the assault, things would never be the same again and the attack had ‘changed everything’.

Gardaí had been looking for the defendant, who presented himself at Dundalk Garda Station in March 2025.

He had 60 previous convictions, 36 from Northern Ireland including five for assault and two for assaulting a police officer and in this jurisdiction had one for a Section 2 assault in addition to road traffic and public order matters.

The court heard Mr King had been adopted as a baby in America and had been brought back to Ireland aged two.

He claimed that he was devastated at being told about his adoption aged nine, but his mother had told the Probation officer that he was four when he had been told on the advice of experts.

The defendant attended school in Newry and was asked to leave after sitting his GCSE exams.

He was taking cocaine, ecstasy and headshop products at the time and ended up in foster care.

He continued to struggle with his addictions and was taking heroin from the age of 21 which he was introduced to while in prison.

He was assessed as being at high risk of reoffending by the Probation Service and was identified as having anger and behaviour issues, low self esteem and low mood and had an inability to cope with stressors.

The court noted the defendant had engaged with addiction and education services while in custody and has shown remorse for his action and has the support of his family.

Judge Dara Hayes said it was a savage, cruel and prolonged attack within an intimate partner relationship with the victim being eight months pregnant at the time, another aggravating factor.

He imposed concurrent sentences of six years and eight months for the first two offences and three years and three months for the third, with the final eight months suspended subject to conditions, including that he has no direct or indirect contact with the victim.
As part of the suspended portion of the sentences, he entered a good behaviour bond and must abstain from the use of all illicit substances, place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for 18 months post release, attend all appointments as directed, be assessed for an intimate partner violence programme and engage in it, if found suitable.
The sentences were backdated to March 15th last year when he went into custody.