A round-up of today's other court stories in brief ...
Prison officer and inmate to be sentenced
A prison officer and an inmate are to be sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in relation to the smuggling of contraband into Mountjoy Prison over a number of years.
Prison officer Dillon O’Brien (27), of Charnwood Meadows, Clonsilla, pleaded guilty that “being a member of the prison service he did knowingly and without the authorisation of the governor convey a bottle of vodka and mobile phone to prisoner David Mulvey” in Mountjoy Prison on March 13th, 2007.
Thomas Hinchon (29), of St Ronans Close, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to conveying a mobile phone and to conspiring with others to convey cannabis into Mountjoy Prison between January 2005 and March 2007.
Judge Katherine Delahunt remanded O’Brien on continuing bail and Hinchon in custody until their sentence date in December, when full facts will be heard.
Teen convicted of sex with minors
A Kildare teenager has been acquitted of raping two 15-year-old girls at a secluded place in the Curragh but found guilty of having sex with them while they were minors.
A Central Criminal Court jury found the 19-year-old man not guilty of raping the girls within eight days of each other after driving them individually to the remote place on January 10th and 18th, 2007.
The jury took over three hours to return its verdicts on the rape charges and over seven hours to find him guilty of having sex with minors. It was day six of the trial and the man cannot be named for legal reasons.
Mr Justice Peter Charleton thanked the seven men and five women of the jury and put the matter back for sentencing next month.
€15,000 award for child’s hand injury
An award of €15,000 was agreed after a court heard a two-year-old child narrowly escaped serious injury when a ceramic sink unit smashed within inches of her push chair, a judge has heard.
Barrister Declan Wade told the Circuit Civil Court Shauna Kirwan was hit by debris when the unit collapsed in UC Tiles and Bathrooms, Newtown, Coolock, Dublin. He said a piece of debris had lacerated her left hand and pieces of the sink had fallen on her head, but had not caused any head injuries.
Mr Wade said the incident happened on July 4th last year when Shauna, of Newtown Court, Malahide Road, Dublin, was two. She was taken to Temple Street hospital, where her hand injury had been stitched. Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, approved a €15,000 settlement.
Man fined €500 for unlicensed horses
A NEPHEW of murdered Limerick crime figure Kieran Keane was fined in court yesterday for keeping three horses in the back of his terrace home.
Owen Treacy was the chief prosecution witness in the Keane murder trial and was stabbed 17 times on the night his uncle was shot dead in Co Limerick in January 2002. The 37-year-old was arrested at his home in St Munchin’s Street, St Mary’s Park yesterday morning.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawful possession of a horse within the Limerick city boundary and possessing horses without a licence. Judge Leo Malone said Mr Treacy must obey the law like everyone else and fined him €500.