A 38-year-old man from County Westmeath in Ireland has been handed a prison sentence of two-and-a-half years after being found guilty of viciously attacking his pregnant girlfriend and threatening to kill their unborn child.

Gintautas Macivilskas pleaded guilty to assault against his partner, Lina Celiesiene, 32, at her home in Mullingar in December 2018.

A court heard that Ms Celiesiene was 24-weeks pregnant with her attacker’s unborn child when the he threatened to kill her, her young daughter and their unborn child.

The 2-year-old daughter was also present when Mr Macivilskas threatened Ms Celiesiene with a four-inch knife. He then placed his hands around Ms Celiesiene’s neck and punched her in the face for what “felt like 10 minutes”.

Despite being kicked and punched all over her body, and suffering from stomach pains, Ms Celiesiene later gave birth to a healthy baby.

Judge Keenan Johnson has described the crime as “an extremely serious case of domestic abuse”.

SPUC comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “This is a horrific case of gratuitous violence against a vulnerable mother, her young child, as well as her unborn baby – a precious child who came so close to harm.

“Sadly, domestic violence is all too common and often goes hand in hand with coercion, in some cases leading to abortion.

“SPUC will continue to highlight the plight of women who are coerced into abortion. One of the reasons why SPUC campaigned so hard against DIY abortion was because the scheme threatened to rob vulnerable mothers of the few safeguards remaining to them in the face of such coercion.

“This is a vital issue that we cannot afford to ignore. We must protect mothers and their children.

“SPUC wishes Ms Celiesiene and her children all the best in the future.”

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