NI man handed 8-month sentence for attack on his elderly father

NI MAN HANDED 8-MONTH SENTENCE FOR ATTACK ON HIS ELDERLY FATHER

A convicted rapist who was the first man in NI to be imprisoned for destroying an unborn child has been handed an eight-month sentence for attacking his elderly father.

Jailing Colin Victor McDonald at Antrim Magistrates Court, District Judge Nigel Broderick told the 58-year-old that apart from his “appalling record”, the assault on his 79-year-old father was “quite harrowing”.

The judge stated that despite claims of domestic violence within the family, it could not justify his actions.

McDonald, from Clarke Court in Antrim, received an eight-month jail sentence but was released on bail pending an appeal.

He pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm to his father on May 20 last year.

The police responded to a domestic incident where the victim was found with a bleeding, swollen eye after being punched multiple times by his son.

McDonald also kicked his father and struck him with his father's walking stick.

His partner called the police out of concern for her own safety.

Defense argued previous violence in the home and that McDonald had been provoked, claiming his mother had called him because her husband was in an agitated state and was attacking her.

The court also reviewed McDonald's criminal history, including a 22-year sentence for attempted murder, rape, and destruction of an unborn child following a brutal attack in 1997, which resulted in the death of an unborn child.

The judge imposed an eight-month sentence and a two-year restraining order, stating the injury inflicted was “quite harrowing”.