Dublin personal trainer jailed over assault on ex-girlfriend, €10,000 directed to Women's Aid

John Peters (33), a personal trainer at a female-only gym in Dublin, was sentenced to two years and two months for assaulting his former girlfriend in 2022 and 2023.

Dublin personal trainer sentenced for assaulting former girlfriend

A personal trainer at a female-only gym in Dublin has been sentenced to two years and two months in prison for assaulting his former girlfriend on multiple occasions in 2022 and 2023, TheJournal.ie reports.

John Peters (33), of Wellingtonia, Knockrabo Apartments, Dundrum, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault, assault causing harm, and criminal damage to the woman's phone. He has no previous convictions.

Judge Martina Baxter, passing sentence, said Peters had breached the bonds of an intimate relationship in how he treated his former partner. She noted his physicality and professional training had been utilised against the woman, and that his continued aggressive attitude reflected a disregard for her.

"One must wonder if he understands the damage he has done," Judge Baxter said, adding that there was no evidence of contrition before the court.

Victim covered up injuries on instruction

Garda Aisling Hawkes, giving evidence at a previous hearing, told the court that Peters and the woman had been in a relationship for three years and began living together in late 2021. The final year to 18 months of the relationship were described as turbulent.

The first assault occurred on 10 July 2022 in the couple's apartment following an argument. Peters dragged the woman downward and her face struck the carpet, causing her nose to bleed. She sustained a large bruise on her arm, a graze to her finger and damage to her eyebrow.

When she said to him, "Look what you have done," Peters told her she had done it to herself. The following day, having attended a work event where colleagues asked about her visible injuries, she texted Peters. He responded with a voice note, instructing her to attribute the injuries to their dog and to wear clothing to cover her arms.

A further incident on 2 May 2023 saw a pyjama top ripped from the woman, leaving marks under her arms. Her mobile phone was damaged on 6 June 2023. Garda Hawkes told the court that Peters also regularly deleted numbers and messages from the woman's phone. Photographs of injuries from both incidents were submitted to the court.

Peters disputed the facts throughout

After his arrest, Peters cooperated with gardaí and answered questions, but submitted a prepared statement in which he denied all allegations. He described his former partner as "volatile" at the time he ended the relationship, suggested she had been drinking during incidents, and indicated she was not credible due to mental health issues. The statement was not read in full in open court but was handed to the judge.

The probation report before Judge Baxter outlined that when asked to describe events, Peters claimed he had been attacked by his then-partner, who was holding a knife. He continued to dispute the injuries the woman sustained and alleged she had made the allegations in "vengeance" following the end of the relationship.

Judge Baxter highlighted that Peters stated he took full responsibility for his actions while simultaneously minimising them and attributing blame to the woman — a contradiction noted as a feature of his attitude throughout the proceedings.

Sentence and conditions

Judge Baxter imposed the following sentences, all to run concurrently: three years for assault causing harm, two and a half years for criminal damage, and six months for assault. She suspended the final ten months of the sentence for 15 months and placed Peters under the supervision of the Probation Service for ten months post-release. The sentence was backdated to March of this year, when Peters was remanded in custody.

The judge identified the aggravating factors as the existence of an intimate relationship and the significant effect his aggression and anger had on the injured party. In mitigation, she cited his guilty plea — which, while late, spared the woman from giving evidence and potential re-traumatisation — his lack of prior convictions, and the absence of any adverse attention since the offences.

€10,000 directed to Women's Aid

At a previous hearing, the court was told that Peters had set aside €10,000 as a token of remorse for the woman. The woman declined to accept the money. Judge Baxter ordered that the full sum be paid to Women's Aid within the coming week.

Judge Baxter thanked the woman for her bravery in attending court.

Source: TheJournal.ie