A convicted sex offender and international con man donated a bogus cheque to a Limerick charity for £100,000 (€147,000) because he wanted people "to think well of him", a court has heard.
Scotsman John Cronin, with various addresses in Ireland and the UK, was jailed for two months at Limerick District Court yesterday, just hours after he was arrested while trying to flee the city.
The 34-year-old presented a fake cheque to Limerick Animal Welfare at a charity function last weekend, and was even thanked by the mayor of Limerick for the donation. He had told the charity he was a successful barrister with terminal cancer and wanted to give the cheque to a worthy cause.
However, on Monday gardaí were alerted by the charity, which had became concerned about the validity of the cheque after learning of Cronin's previous convictions for fraud and sex offences.
An investigation was launched and Cronin was arrested at lunchtime yesterday at conman station in Limerick city as he was preparing to board a train.
Cronin, who pleaded guilty to having a cheque which he knew to be false, insisted on representing himself at yesterday's hearing.
When asked by Judge Tom O'Donnell what his motivation was, he replied: "I wanted people to think well of me, and for a brief time they did."
Insp Jim Ryan told the court that Cronin had a total of 21 previous convictions for offences committed here and in the UK, including fraud and robbery. He was jailed in 1992 in Scotland for a sex assault on a Conservative Party activist at her flat in Edinburgh.
Judge O'Donnell said he acknowledged Cronin's guilty plea but imposed the prison sentence because of a "number of previous convictions".