Man refused bail for alleged false imprisonment and assault of woman

A man who allegedly falsely imprisoned a woman, threatened to kill her with a knife and said he would burn her house down, was denied bail when he appeared at Bray District Court on Thursday afternoon.

Karl O’Reilly (40) with an address at Higginstown Wood, Granard, Co Longford was charged with two counts of false imprisonment of a woman who was abducted in Arklow, Co Wicklow, in the early hours of Tuesday.

He was also charged with threatening to kill the woman, assault and possession of a knife. He was further charged with falsely imprisoning the woman in a house in Co Longford, on February 28th.

Det Sgt Donal O’Sullivan told the court that in the early hours of March 12th, Mr O’Reilly had falsely imprisoned the woman in a van, in Arklow.

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He said the woman was subjected to a terrifying ordeal as Mr O’Reilly drove across the country to Co Mayo, refusing to allow her to use public conveniences and insisting she go to the toilet in the van or on the side of the road.

Det Sgt O’Sullivan said the woman had complained that Mr O’Reilly had held a knife to her throat, threatened to kill her and to burn down her family home.

The woman was subsequently found by gardaí in Mayo and Mr O’Reilly was arrested.

The defendant, who appeared wearing a green hoodie, dark trousers and black trainers stood up on a number of occasions as an application for bail was presented by his counsel.

He was asked by Judge Nicola Andrews to remain seated, before his counsel explained Mr O’Reilly was having difficulty hearing. The judge then invited Mr O’Reilly to sit in the witness box.

Gardaí objected to the bail application, citing the seriousness of the allegations and arguing that Mr O’Reilly was a potential flight risk.

Judge Andrews refused bail citing the seriousness of the charges and remanded the accused in custody to appear by video link at Bray District Court on Thursday next, March 21st.

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