Magherafelt man admits assaulting pregnant girlfriend
A County Londonderry man has admitted assaulting his former girlfriend when she was pregnant.
However, Richard Joseph Fullerton, 20, of Leckagh Drive, Magherafelt, has been cleared of assaulting her in a bid to abort her unborn child.
At Antrim Crown Court on Monday, the judge said what happened between the couple was possibly a mistake.
But he said assaulting a young pregnant girl was "a very serious matter".
The fact that the child was born healthy and well was what mattered most, he added.
Earlier on Monday, Fullerton had gone on trial denying two charges between December 2009 and 1 February 2010.
But he later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault.
Fullerton will be sentenced next month.