‘TOXIC’ | 

‘Pathetic’ bully who subjected ex to months of demeaning domestic abuse avoids jail

Gary Herron was due to go on trial yesterday facing six offences including attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm

Today at 08:25

A “pathetic” bully boy who subjected his ex partner to months of toxic and demeaning domestic abuse, culminating in a physical assault, narrowly escaped going to jail.

Sentencing Gary Herron at Antrim Crown Court, Judge Philip Babington told the 37-year-old that although “you deserve to go to prison straight away” he was mindful of the fact the barber turned bully was already undergoing a probation order which included a domestic violence program.

He told Herron that a prison sentence “will punish you and protect the pubic, especially the female part of our community, promoting your rehabilitation is also important” so instead of jailing him he was imposing “after careful consideration,” a two year jail sentence suspended for two years.

Describing Herron’s behaviour as “quite appalling,” he told the 37-year-old he had subjected his ex to a series of “toxic” messages which “show you as a pathetic bully of women and that is worrying for society.”

Herron, from Woodland Grove in Antrim, was due to go on trial yesterday facing six offences including attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm but following an application by defence counsel Richard McConkey, he entered 11th hour dock confessions to causing actual bodily harm, possessing a hammer as a weapon and supplying class A ecstasy on 23 June 2023 and a further charge of domestic abuse by engaging in an abusive course of behaviour on dates between 1 March 2022 and 16 February 2023.

Opening the facts of the case, prosecuting counsel Mark Farrell told the court how Herron and his ex had been in a “fairly toxic relationship” where there was “tit for tat” abusive messaging and in addition to these offences, the defendant had admitted lesser offences in the Magistrates Court and had been put on probation for them.

On 23 June last year, the pair had been at a concert at the Belsonic music festival when Herron supplied her with a single ecstasy tablet but there had also been a verbal argument which continued when they got back to the defendant’s home.

She reported that Herron had struck her to the side of the head with either a kick or a punch and that had knocked her to the floor and caused a “golf ball sized swelling” to the side of her head and Mr Farrell told the court that while she was on the floor, the victim called a friend to come and help her.

When that Good Samaritan pulled up outside Herron’s home, the barber turned bully came out “brandishing and swinging a hammer in a threatening manner” but never actually used the weapon.

Turning to the domestic abuse offence lamented that sadly, both Herron and his ex “had issues” with drink and drugs during the relationship which only added to the toxicity but she reported she was “coercively controlled by the defendant.”

Outlining how there were “hundreds of pages of text messages…and there would be fairly nasty messaging back and forth,” Mr Farrell said there were also numerous videos uncovered on Herron’s mobile phone.

“I have watched one or two and they show the complainant being demeaned, for example she was on the floor in her bra on one video, heavily intoxicated and he was calling her names and so on,” said the barrister, adding that such behaviour “seemed to be a feature of the relationship for quite a while unfortunately.”

Lodging a plea in mitigation, Mr McConkey told the court the “relationship was toxic and it seems to have gone both ways but he accepts that his conduct was not acceptable.”

Highlighting that Herron is already on probation with elements to address domestic violence, he told the judge that according to the defendant “it’s going well.”

Sentencing Herron, Judge Babington said while the relationship may well have been toxic “there is no excuse in today’s society for treating a woman in the way that you did…your behaviour was quite appalling.”