A former chief executive of a suicide awareness charity who admitted stealing more than €36,000 from the organisation has been spared a jail term and ordered to do community service.
Declan Behan (42), of Boyne View, Slane, Co Meath, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to six sample charges of theft from the Irish Association of Suicidology between November 2010 and September 2012.
Judge Patricia Ryan sentenced him to three years in prison but suspended it in full for four years. In lieu of a sentence Behan was ordered to complete 240 hours of community service.
Judge Ryan confirmed that all of the stolen money, totalling €36,540, has been returned to the association. He said the association did not wish Behan to serve a custodial sentence.
No previous convictions
The separated father of three has no previous convictions and has not come to Garda attention since. He is now self-employed providing a garden service in his local area.
The court heard that Behan, who had been on a salary of €70,000, used the organisation’s Visa card for some 300 unauthorised transactions totalling €36,540. He used the card to withdraw cash from ATMs but also for electronic payments.
The suicidology association is a registered charity with an annual budget of €150,000. It was set up to promote suicide awareness through publishing pamphlets and organising conferences. The HSE is responsible for 60 per cent of its funding, while the remainder is made up of donations from the public and fundraising.
Buying petrol
Det Sgt Barry Walsh told Karen O'Connor, prosecuting, that Behan used the cash to pay for everyday living expenses and to supplement his income. Many of the transactions relate to buying petrol or groceries, and he confirmed there was "no element of extravagance".
Behan texted the organisation’s co-founder, consultant psychiatrist Dr John Connolly, on September 14th, 2012, telling him that he had been living off the organisation for the previous two years. Behan stated in the text that “everyone would be better off if I just disappeared”. He was in New York at the time having used the organisation’s card to book the flight and a one-night stay in a hotel.
Behan’s partner convinced him to return to Ireland, and she escorted him to the doctor’s Mayo home where he made a full confession.