A gang of three young men and a 17-year-old girl are to be sentenced for luring men using a dating website to a remote area, putting them in fear of their lives and then robbing them.
Roscommon Circuit Court heard yesterday that two men from Dublin had been lured after the 17-year-old schoolgirl, who cannot be named, posted her profile on a website seeking liaisons with men.
Judge Tony Hunt heard one man from Dublin got in touch with the girl, who used the name “Emma” on the website, and after several messages were exchanged she invited him to meet her on June 18th last year in Strokestown, Co Roscommon.
Using profile name “Amber”, she told another man from Dublin a week later who had got in touch that she was “up for anything”. The schoolgirl posted two profile photographs.
Judge Hunt said the gang, all of whom pleaded guilty to false imprisonment as well as a variety of theft charges, exploited gullible men.
He said the men had expected some sexual encounter but instead were subjected to assault, false imprisonment and robbery.
Before the court were Jack Thame (20), Jonathan Fitzpatrick (19) and Anthony Carolan (21), all from Strokestown in Co Roscommon. All three pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment, assault and robbery of the first man on June 18th last year, while Thame and Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to the charges in relation to the second man a week later.
The schoolgirl also pleaded guilty to the charges in relation to both men. She will be sentenced next week, along with Carolan. Both were remanded on bail.
Thame and Fitzpatrick were remanded in custody and will be sentenced on May 26th.
The court was told the first victim was given detailed instructions on where to go to meet the young female, but when he arrived at the remote location near Strokestown at about 9.30pm, a man appeared and asked him what he was doing with his sister.
A number of other men appeared armed with a baton, hammer and baseball bat. The victim was attacked and hit over the head, had his hands tied behind his back and his head covered. His wallet and iPhone were taken and he gave the gang his PIN number.
He was bundled into the boot of his own car and taken to woods before one of the gang went to an ATM to withdraw money.
The gang member returned a couple of hours later without having retrieved any money. A handgun was produced and the victim was taken to an ATM but he could not get any money out either. The gang members had consumed alcohol, and the man was later allowed to drive away. He did not report the matter to gardaí for some time.
Judge Hunt was told that in the second incident, another man from Dublin drove to Strokestown to meet “Amber” and was given directions to go to a remote area.
He knew the young woman from her website profile photographs, but a number of men appeared and attacked him, hitting him over the head with a baseball bat and causing a wound which later required stitching.
He told gardaí he thought the men, who had a hammer and other weapons including a handgun, were going to kill him. They demanded his wallet and PIN number and they later got €600 from his account, but other attempts to withdraw money failed. He was warned not to tell anyone, but went immediately to gardaí and reported the incident.
Judge Hunt said that having done it once, the gang went and carried out the same crime a week later. “It was not something done on a whim, the bait was set. They took advantage of people who themselves were taking risks,” he said.
Carolan and the 17-year-old girl, neither of whom have any previous convictions, will be sentenced next week. Thame, who has seven previous convictions, and Fitzpatrick, who has no previous convictions, will be sentenced on May 26th.