A man has been jailed for 10 years for threatening, assaulting and raping his wife as their marriage was breaking down in 2014.

Sentencing the 42-year-old in Dublin Central Criminal Court Monday, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said the assaults were “cowardly” and “brutal”.

“The crime of rape is an attack upon the bodily and psychological integrity of a woman,” she said.

She said there attacks had taken place in the context of a marital breakdown but said this did not excuse or justify his conduct.

“It was terrible for his wife,” she said.

“She was in the impossible position in ensuring her son had access to his father while protecting herself against him.”

The 42-year-old accused is only the third person to be convicted for marital rape since rape within a marriage was made illegal in 1990.

In June at the Central Criminal Court a jury of eleven men and one woman convicted him of raping his wife in their home in May, 2014 and of threatening to cut her face . He was also convicted of threatening to kill the woman the next day over the phone.

He had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to cause serious harm to the woman and of assaulting her mother on August 7th, 2014 during the hammer attack outside the mother's Dublin home.

The judge imposed a sentence of 12 years for the count of rape but suspended the final two years. She imposed lesser sentences for the other counts, but ordered they run concurrently with the rape sentence.

The victim's ordeal began at the start of 2014 when she told her husband of nine years that she wanted a separation.

Their marriage had been under strain for some time. The man was jealous of the woman's successful career and believed she wasn't spending enough time at home. He was also unhappy she was still breast-feeding their child up to two years of age.

Mary Rose Gearty SC, prosecuting said he took the proposed separation “very badly.” On one occasion the woman returned home to find the man had poured petrol over the living room where he sat smoking cigarettes as their child slept upstairs.

On May 25th, 2014 they were arguing when he picked up a carving knife and threatened to cut her face open. He then told her “right, upstairs”. He followed her up and said the gardaí would never arrive on time if she called them.

He raped her in the spare bedroom while telling her to open her eyes and insisting they weren't separating.

The next day she went to the Family Court and obtained a interim barring order. She did not disclose the rape until five months later because she couldn't bring herself to admit it, she said.

Shortly after she obtained the barring order the man rang her at her parent's home and told her she was dead.

In the following weeks the woman realised her husband was tracking her phone using an app and knew her location at all times. On one day in early June he followed her to her work, a supermarket and their son's crèche and said that next time he would bring a hammer.

On August 6th he rang her at home and said he was going to “end things tonight”. The next day he showed up at her parent's house demanding to see their son.

The woman and her mother refused to let him in. He said he had a present for the boy in his car and returned with a hammer.

He attacked both women before passers-by intervened. His wife lost consciousness at one stage and was covered in blood afterwards. Both victims suffered lacerations.

A passer-by set his dog on the accused who swung the hammer at them. The dog owner then chased the accused away and gardaí found him nearby hiding behind a jeep.

Ms Gearty said at one stage the accused blamed “black magic” and “the occult” for the hammer attack. He said during interview it was out of character for him.

Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, said his client will find prison very difficult as a foreign national who is far away from his family. He said the accused was going through a depressive episode at the time and suffered greatly by being separated from his son.

Last week the woman read a powerful victim impact report to the court where she said the attacks will stay with her forever.

"I knew that night there was nothing I could do to stop him," she said, speaking of the rape.

"The rape left me with a complete sense of powerlessness , like everything of myself had been taken away from me," she continued.

“I felt so broken and for a long time, angry with myself for what I saw as letting it happen," she said.

Referring to the hammer attack in August 2014, she said that before becoming unconscious she feared that she was going to be murdered in front of her son after seeing the "cold determination and focus" of her husband.

"I will never forget, before I went unconscious, looking down at the door of the room where (my son) was sleeping and thinking, 'Whatever happens now, don't come out, don't see this,'" she said.

"I believed in that moment I was going to die. I know if it wasn't for the actions of (a passer-by) I may not be alive.

"All my family will be forever grateful to him."

Her husband had his barrister read a letter of apology to the court for the hammer attack but made no reference to the rape or other charges. He said he was “utterly reckless” and blamed the “alienation, humiliation and emasculation” he said he suffered during the break-down of their relationship.

Mr Dwyer SC said his client was judged to be at a low risk of committing future violence and that he was ashamed of his actions.

Ms Gearty contested this, saying the accused had made phone calls from prison to his wife which showed he “does not have a positive attitude towards her”. The court heard she is terrified of him getting out of prison.

Douglas Slade, 75, (left) and Christopher Skeaping, 72 (right), members of the Paedophile Information Exchange

A former racing driver linked to the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) - which campaigned for sex with children to be decriminalised - has been jailed for five years.

Christopher Skeaping, 72, formerly of Hounslow in London, was convicted of one count of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old boy in the 1980s.

Bristol Crown Court heard Skeaping was involved in the former Paedophile Action for Liberation (PAL), which later became the Paedophile Information Exchange.

These were campaign groups in the 1970s and 1980s calling for the age of consent to be lowered to allow sex with children to be legalised.

Judge Euan Ambrose jailed Skeaping, who has previously been imprisoned for abusing teenage boys, for five years and imposed a sexual harm prevention order.

"(The victim) said it was common knowledge that you were interested in boys sexually," the judge told Skeaping, a former racing car driver and mechanic.

"He said that you spoke about the Paedophile Information Exchange, a now notorious organisation, and you spoke about it quite openly.

"He said you spoke quite openly about being into sex with boys, you couldn't understand how it was considered a problem that older men would want to have sexual relationships with children.

"You used to express your views on this in a very crude manner."

Skeaping stood trial at Bristol Crown Court with Douglas Slade, 75, who was jailed for 24 years earlier this month having been convicted of 13 child sex offences.

The court heard Skeaping introduced his victim to Slade, also a member of PAL and PIE, who went on to abuse him.

In 2010, Skeaping was jailed for five years for three offences he committed against one boy aged under 16 in the 1980s and 1990s.

He was sent to prison for seven years and six months in 2012, having been convicted of two offences against a boy aged under 16 in the 1970s.

Mitigating, Rosaleen Collins said there was no evidence Skeaping had continued to offend while in France, where he lived from 1995 to 2007.

"His medical condition is very poor indeed," she added.

Detective Sergeant Paul Melton, of Avon and Somerset Police, said there was evidence Skeaping and Slade were part of a wider network of men interested in sexually abusing children.

"Our investigation into Slade, Skeaping and their associates is ongoing and we believe there will be more victims who haven't yet come forward," he said.

"I'd like to send them a message - we are here to listen and support you. You don't have to suffer in silence. Please contact your local police force or any of the excellent support agencies available and you will be given all the help and support you need."

Anyone with information should call Mr Melton on 101, quoting Operation Falcon, or use the form on Avon and Somerset Police's website.

Linda Chamberlain and Nicholas Chamberlain (Pic: WTAJ-TV)

A couple in Pennsylvania locked their children in a basement dog cage as punishment and even left their six-year-old inside a cage overnight.

Thirty-six-year-old Nicholas Chamberlain and 34-year-old Linda Chamberlain were charged on Friday, said police.

State police troopers said the investigation began on June 19 when police responded to a call of a child refusing to return home in Huntingdon County.

Police said the couple's 13-year-old child escaped to a neighbour's house to call police after the six-year-old was locked in the cage overnight.

The couple also have a 10-year-old.

Online court records do not list attorneys for the Chamberlains, who remain jailed on Monday and face a preliminary hearing August 3.

Both are charged with false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of children. Nicholas Chamberlain is also charged with simple assault.

Lorcan O’Reilly

A date has been set at the Central Criminal Court for the trial of a 15-year-old boy accused of the murder of Lorcan O'Reilly.

The accused cannot be named because he is a minor.

Lorcan O'Reilly (21), from Robert Emmet Close in south inner city Dublin, was stabbed in the nearby Oliver Bond flat complex in the early hours of November 1 last year.

An early trial date was sought this morning by the DPP.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy fixed the trial for November 21 this year.

Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said the assaults were “cowardly” and “brutal”

A man has been jailed for 10 years for threatening, assaulting and raping his wife as their marriage was breaking down in 2014.

Sentencing the 42-year-old in Dublin Central Criminal Court today, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said the assaults were “cowardly” and “brutal”.

“The crime of rape is an attack upon the bodily and psychological integrity of a woman,” she said.

She said there attacks had taken place in the context of a marital breakdown but said this did not excuse or justify his conduct.

“It was terrible for his wife,” she said.

“She was in the impossible position in ensuring her son had access to his father while protecting herself against him.”

The 42-year-old accused is only the third person to be convicted for marital rape since rape within a marriage was made illegal in 1990.

In June at the Central Criminal Court a jury of eleven men and one woman convicted him of raping his wife in their home in May, 2014 and of threatening to cut her face . He was also convicted of threatening to kill the woman the next day over the phone.

He had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to cause serious harm to the woman and of assaulting her mother on August 7th, 2014 during the hammer attack outside the mother's Dublin home.

The judge imposed a sentence of 12 years for the count of rape but suspended the final two years. She imposed lesser sentences for the other counts, but ordered they run concurrently with the rape sentence.

The victim's ordeal began at the start of 2014 when she told her husband of nine years that she wanted a separation.

Their marriage had been under strain for some time. The man was jealous of the woman's successful career and believed she wasn't spending enough time at home. He was also unhappy she was still breast-feeding their child up to two years of age.

Mary Rose Gearty SC, prosecuting said he took the proposed separation “very badly.” On one occasion the woman returned home to find the man had poured petrol over the living room where he sat smoking cigarettes as their child slept upstairs.

On May 25th, 2014 they were arguing when he picked up a carving knife and threatened to cut her face open. He then told her “right, upstairs”. He followed her up and said the gardaí would never arrive on time if she called them.

He raped her in the spare bedroom while telling her to open her eyes and insisting they weren't separating.

The next day she went to the Family Court and obtained a interim barring order. She did not disclose the rape until five months later because she couldn't bring herself to admit it, she said.

Shortly after she obtained the barring order the man rang her at her parent's home and told her she was dead.

In the following weeks the woman realised her husband was tracking her phone using an app and knew her location at all times. On one day in early June he followed her to her work, a supermarket and their son's crèche and said that next time he would bring a hammer.

On August 6th he rang her at home and said he was going to “end things tonight”. The next day he showed up at her parent's house demanding to see their son.

The woman and her mother refused to let him in. He said he had a present for the boy in his car and returned with a hammer.

He attacked both women before passers-by intervened. His wife lost consciousness at one stage and was covered in blood afterwards. Both victims suffered lacerations.

A passer-by set his dog on the accused who swung the hammer at them. The dog owner then chased the accused away and gardaí found him nearby hiding behind a jeep.

Ms Gearty said at one stage the accused blamed “black magic” and “the occult” for the hammer attack. He said during interview it was out of character for him.

Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, said his client will find prison very difficult as a foreign national who is far away from his family. He said the accused was going through a depressive episode at the time and suffered greatly by being separated from his son.

Last week the woman read a powerful victim impact report to the court where she said the attacks will stay with her forever.

"I knew that night there was nothing I could do to stop him," she said, speaking of the rape.

"The rape left me with a complete sense of powerlessness , like everything of myself had been taken away from me," she continued.

“I felt so broken and for a long time, angry with myself for what I saw as letting it happen," she said.

Referring to the hammer attack in August 2014, she said that before becoming unconscious she feared that she was going to be murdered in front of her son after seeing the "cold determination and focus" of her husband.

"I will never forget, before I went unconscious, looking down at the door of the room where (my son) was sleeping and thinking, 'Whatever happens now, don't come out, don't see this,'" she said.

"I believed in that moment I was going to die. I know if it wasn't for the actions of (a passer-by) I may not be alive.

"All my family will be forever grateful to him."

Her husband had his barrister read a letter of apology to the court for the hammer attack but made no reference to the rape or other charges. He said he was “utterly reckless” and blamed the “alienation, humiliation and emasculation” he said he suffered during the break-down of their relationship.

Mr Dwyer SC said his client was judged to be at a low risk of committing future violence and that he was ashamed of his actions.

Ms Gearty contested this, saying the accused had made phone calls from prison to his wife which showed he “does not have a positive attitude towards her”. The court heard she is terrified of him getting out of prison.

By Conor Gallagher

Anthony Hussey

A Kerry man who twice raped a 73-year-old woman after breaking into her home and leaving her “waiting for death” has been jailed for 13 years.

Anthony Hussey (26) was wearing a balaclava and dressed in dark clothing when the woman found him in her bedroom. He told her that his boss was making him do it and that he didn't want money.

“It's just one thing and you are going to like it,” Hussey said before he told the woman there were three more men outside.

She screamed and struggled with him but he pushed her to the floor and placed his hands over her mouth. He bent the woman over her bed, removed her trousers and underwear and sexually assaulted her. He then raped her both vaginally and anally.

Afterwards he said “you enjoyed that didn't you?” He covered her whole body with a duvet and left her home.

Hussey of Ardshillane, Sneem, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape and anal rape at the woman's home on September 20, 2014.
“One runs short of words to describe the seriousness of some of the offences that come before the court, particularly offences of a sexual nature,” Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said.

“This must be regarded as a sexual offence, of its class, of the serious conceivable kind.”

The judge said a hallmark of the case was the woman's immense courage and determination.” He commended her as “a deeply impressive witness” who took the stand to deliver a powerful victim impact statement as part of her healing process.

“She was violated in the vilest manner in her own home,” he added. “The intrusion makes this case stand out in its seriousness.”

In mitigation, Mr Justice McCarthy said he was considering Hussey's “otherwise good character”, his letter of apology and, most importantly, his guilty plea. He said this entitled him to a discount to his sentence of between a quarter and a third.

He imposed a 13 year sentenced which was backdated to when he went in custody in 2014. The judge also imposed a five year post release supervision order.

Sergeant Michael Quirke told Tom Creed SC, prosecuting that Hussey had been at the woman's house earlier that morning. She had woken to loud knocking and banging on the doors and windows of her house.

He claimed he had gone there by mistake having been drinking heavily through the night and went home. He then returned, broke into her house and raped her. She called the emergency services to report the rape just before 8am that morning.

He was a bar manager at the time and has never come to garda attention before or since. He was registered as a sex offender when he entered his plea last March.

In the days after the rape Hussey told acquaintances he was “looking at time”. He told his friends he had gone to the woman's house wearing a balaclava but said it was “only a fuckin' break-in” and claimed he hadn't raped her.

His DNA was later found on a fleece the woman had been wearing. He admitted to gardaí that he had been at her home earlier that morning but said he couldn't remember going back afterwards.

The woman read her victim impact statement. She said after the rape she was sobbing uncontrollably like a small child, “broken, terrorised, waiting for my death”.

“This phantom out of the darkness, standing in front of me demanding sex. I had no option but to fight. My feeble attempts to push him away. I was too weak or clumsy to defend myself, which seemed to amuse him. He started mocking me. When I pulled at his balaclava he said “ah you want to see my face now”.

“The belittling comments continued. He threatened me with a gang outside.....I knew I had no chance of winning his game”.

“How can he behave with such brutality? A woman three times his age. He could be my grandson.”

She said it was more than one and half years since the rape and she felt “ashamed, naked, raw and so old, disgusted, betrayed and humiliated. There are not enough words”.

“I can't stop screaming inside. My heart is bleeding with shock....I feel ripped open stood naked to the core of my being, reduced to nothing. I feel so hollowed out. I feel so small, having been reduced to a puppet like from a Punch and Judy show,” the woman continued. She added she felt “gutted in the truest sense of the word”.

She spoke of a hill near her home that she used to walk up but could no longer do so without company.

 “The day will come when I walk to the top of my hill, stand tall, lift up my arms to the sky and scream, scream for all those children and women who have been abused and who can't cry out in despair, those who had to suffer in silence.”

Michael Bowman SC, defending handed in a number of testimonials confirming that Hussey and his family were well thought of in the local community.

He said a report from a forensic psychologist stated that Hussey did not have common characteristics that would be found in the personality profiles of sexual predators and concluded that he did not present a future danger to others.

The reports did make reference to Hussey watching “hardcore pornography” and visiting a prostitute.

Counsel handed in a letter of apology from Hussey which said that he understood fully “the horrors he has impacted on the woman” and that he had listened intently to her statement.

A letter of apology from his parents said the victim would “always be in their prayers”

The woman said she had always preferred her own company and she no words to describe the impact the rape had on her life. “It was an invasion of my privacy. I feel vulnerable.”

“The word sex did not exist when I was growing up. Being my age, it is hard to break this taboo. I would rather be silent and forget what happened. I want to live in the present and get on with my life but I need to break through the taboos, embarrassment and shame. The broken being inside does not stop screaming in fear. I need to be rescued from drowning in the aftermath,” the woman continued.

She said her whole life had been shattered and turned upside down. She described feeling like a child in the wilderness with nowhere to go, “having been sexually abused, terrified and in pain”.

She said she was fearful, felt stripped naked and defiled and not well enough to live alone, “yet my offender walked free”.

She described her home as her “Irish paradise” and felt she owed to it herself to work towards reclaiming it.

“I lost the trust in myself and in people. I live in fear.” she said before she added that she felt danger when someone called to her home.

“My body feels like it is on constant alert. A sudden noise, if a young man with dark hair or a hood passes by, my body tenses. I have to look the other way or cross the road, focus on my breathing, telling myself I am safe”.

“I still see quite often in the corner of my right eye, the slim black masked figure standing behind me. I have not managed to ignore it. I wish I was invisible,” the woman continued.

She said she felt sorry for Hussey's parents and concluded that she was grateful for having been given a voice.

“I hope to get some closure today and to begin again and rebuild my life.”

By Sonya McLean and Conor Gallagher

FILE PHOTO

A man who pointed a sawn-off shotgun at a garda's face before being disarmed and arrested by another armed officer has been jailed for five years, with the final 18 months suspended.

Warren Nolan (20) of Rowlagh Park, Clondalkin, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing a firearm in suspicious circumstances and three counts of drug possession for sale or supply on June 8, 2015.

He also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, reckless endangerment and driving without a licence at Clondalkin on June 4, 2015.

The court heard Nolan caused two pedestrians to jump over a gate and a wall to escape his car after he drove on footpaths, on the wrong side of the road and through red lights during a garda pursuit at Clondalkin in June last year.

The incident started when gardaí spotted the car driving at high speed through Clondalkin at 4.45pm. Three males jumped out of the car before Nolan continued on.

“The rear of the vehicle exploded into a ball of fire, but still continued,” Judge Karen O'Connor said. “The wheel came off and eventually came to a halt.” Nolan was arrested at the scene.

Judge O'Connor said the two pedestrians who jumped over a wall and a gate to escape Nolan's car were left “extremely nervous and anxious” after the incident.

In the second incident, the court heard gardaí noticed a taxi containing several men speeding through Clondalkin and pursued it. When the car stopped, one of the gardaí, Gavin Curran, approached the passenger side.

“He looked through the window and discovered Warren Nolan looking at him, pointing a shotgun directly at his face,” Judge O'Connor said. The gun was “just two feet away” from him, she added.

Gda Curran dropped to the ground and his colleague, who was armed, stormed the car and arrested the men. Nolan was found to have cannabis, cocaine and heroin on him.

Judge O'Connor said the gardaí were extremely distressed as a result of the encounter. Both said it was the worst incident they had experienced in the line of duty.

Garda Curran “thought he was going to be shot,” Judge O'Connor said. “It was the most frightening incident in his life.”

The sawn-off shotgun was later found to be unloaded and no ammunition was found in the car. Nolan has seven previous convictions including for misuse of drugs, the court heard.

Judge O'Connor noted that Nolan was just 18 years old when he committed the offences, that he had a difficult childhood and discovered his mother dead when he was just 14.

She took into account several mitigating factors, including his youth, his guilty pleas and the fact there was no ammunition in the weapon.

She handed down a five-year sentence, but suspended the final 18 months, saying she hoped he would use that opportunity to rehabilitate himself. She also disqualified him from driving for five years.

“If you don't take this chance, you're at a stage in your life where you will enter into a life of criminality and spend a lot of your life behind bars,” Judge O'Connor said. “You're a young man. I am pleading with you to take this chance.”

“Thanks Judge,” Nolan replied.

Wayne Ellis

A Dublin man given a wholly suspended sentence for his third offence under the firearms act, has been sent to jail following an undue leniency appeal by prosecutors.

Lawyers for Wayne Ellis (34), with an address at Landen Road, Ballyfermot, had challenged the constitutionality of mandatory minimum five year sentences for second offences under the Firearm Act but the constitutionality of the relevant legislation was upheld.

Ellis had pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances as well as certain articles at Knocklyon Shopping Centre on July 5, 2012. Judge Mary Ellen Ring gave him a wholly suspended sentence on May 26, 2014.

However, the Court of Appeal found today that his sentence was “unduly lenient” and he was lead away to begin serving a five year term of imprisonment.

Giving judgment, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan said gardaí had been monitoring the movements of a particular car on the day in question and decided to intercept the vehicle as it approached a post office and cash in transit van.

The car was surrounded by armed gardaí who observed a shotgun and sledge hammer in the rear passenger foot well. There was also an unlabelled bottle later proved to contain petrol.

The sawn-off double barrelled shot gun was unloaded and Ellis was in the rear of the car while two co-accused were in the front.

Mr Justice Sheehan said Elllis had been a heroin addict, abusing illegal substances since the age of 13, and had spent most of his 20s in prison.

The fact that he had been drug free for two years by the time he came to be sentenced “seriously influenced the sentencing judge”, Mr Justice Sheehan said. He also had a partner and young child.

Counsel for the DPP, Gerardine Small BL, said Ellis had two previous convictions under the firearms act and, as such, an actual mandatory minimum sentence of five years had to be imposed.

It was “absolutely mandatory”, Ms Small said.

The High Court upheld the Constitutionality of the relevant legislation following a challenge by Ellis' lawyers lead by Caroline Biggs SC.

The High Court also refused a declaration that the mandatory minimum five year prison sentence for a second firearm offence was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mr Justice Sheehan said the principle issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Circuit Court judge was entitled to depart from the minimum five year sentence given Ellis' previous convictions for firearms.

But that matter had “now been settled” by the High Court.

Mr Justice Sheehan said the Circuit Court judge was not entitled to suspend any part of the five year sentence because of Ellis' relevant previous conviction.

He said Ellis had made “a significant breakthrough in his life”. “He appears to be making huge strides in overcoming his addiction” and the court was satisfied that there was no need to impose more than five years.

Mr Justice Sheehan, who sat with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, said the second offence committed by Ellis at Knocklyon Shopping Centre was “without doubt extremely serious”.

It was clear that an “armed robbery was intended” and Ellis was part of a group which also intended to subsequently destroy forensic evidence of the crime, he said.

The Court of Appeal did not interfere with the second count due to the fact that an experienced trial judge decided this was one of those unusual cases where the public interest was best served by a suspended sentence because an accused had struggled successfully to rehabilitate and become drug free.

Ellis embraced a supporter in court before being lead away to begin his sentence.

The court was told that the High Court's judgment was being appealed.

Cathal McCarron outside court today

TYRONE Gaelic football star Cathal McCarron has appeared in court charged in connection with a public order incident on a Dublin street.

The 2008 All-Ireland winner appeared at Dublin District Court on Monday to face an allegation of engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour at Anglesea Street in the city-centre on May 12 last. The charge is under Section Six of the Public Order which can result in a fine as well as a three-month sentence.

The 28-year-old, from Tummery Road, Dromore, Omagh, who also has three Ulster title medals, is on the Tyrone panel in contention for another All-Ireland Championship victory this year.

He was ordered to appear again in October after Judge Michael Walsh was told there was a note on the case file that it was possible an additional charge could be brought but this needed to be checked.

Dressed in a grey suit, white open neck shirt and brown shoes, he did not address the court.

However, he nodded and smiled when the judge remarked that for his next court hearing “a late September date might not suit this gentleman, would I be right?”.

When the case was called his solicitor Niall Walsh said his client would be pleading guilty to the public order charge. However, court Garda Sergeant Sinead Vaughan told Judge Walsh that she was instructed that it was possible there would be another charge and this would have to be clarified.

Mr Walsh said this was the first he heard of that and he added that given the circumstances he was aware of, he would not have thought there would have been further charges.

It was the GAA star's second court hearing on the charge having already appeared on June 8 last.

Judge Walsh noted that a guilty plea was being entered but it was possible there would be another charge. He said the matter could be dealt at McCarron's next hearing.

He remanded the Dromore and Tyrone corner-back on continuing bail to appear again on a date in October.

The footballer, who helped his county win this year's Ulster Championship, has an autobiography be due out later this year.

Titled “Out of Control”, the book tells the story of his football success but also delves into his other personal issues including his gambling problems, his move to London and taking part in pornographic video before returning home to Tyrone to play for his county again.

He recently tweeted a picture of his book with the back page blurb stating: “McCarron is a 28-year-old inter-county footballer from Tyrone. A winner of one All-Ireland senior medal and three Ulster titles, he was nominated for an All-Star in 2013 and 2015. Yet behind all that success lay an extremely dark secret, a gambling addiction that cost him hundreds of thousands of pounds, endless relationships and, almost, his life. The illness took such a grip on McCarron that he was forced to leave the country but the addiction led him down an even darker path and into a world of total depravity where he was willing to do anything for money. Out of Control is a sports story unlike any other, a tale of success, lies, deceit, theft, recovery, rehabilitation and, ultimately, redemption.”

Picture of the drugs discovered in Rosslare today (Image via Revenue)

Revenue officers in Rosslare Europort seized over 17kgs of cocaine today.

As part of routine profiling operations, an Irish registered truck disembarking the ferry was scanned and searched, with the assistance of detector dog Ralph (below).

The drugs, with an estimated street value of approximately €1.2 million, were found concealed in a side panel of the truck.
 
The driver, an Irish male in his fifties, was arrested by Gardaí and brought to Wexford Garda Station.  

Investigations are ongoing.

The man was 19 years old at the time of the offence

A Wexford man who” had sex with” his ex-girlfriend's 13 year old sister has been sentenced to three years with the final two years suspended.

The 25-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the girl, pleaded guilty on the morning of his trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to defilement of a child at his home on March 2, 2010. He was registered a sex offender.

The man was 19 years old at the time of the offence. The investigating garda confirmed the girl did not want to give evidence at trial or to provide a victim impact report.

He has 42 previous convictions, including possession of knives, drugs and theft offences. He has been on bail pending sentence and has not come to any garda attention since 2010.

The man was arrested the following day but denied any sexual contact during interview.

He claimed that the teenager had been pursuing him and he had arranged for her to come to his house so he could “let her down gently”. He told gardaí if his DNA was found on her it would be as a result of them sitting shoulder to shoulder on the couch.

The garda told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting that the man's DNA was found on the girl's underwear, following forensic analysis and he was re-arrested in July 2010. He again denied any sexual contact and re-iterated that his DNA was on her because they had been sitting beside each other.

Judge Patrick McCartan said he was satisfied that there was “nothing approaching consent” in the case and noted that there was a significant age gap between them.

He said the girl had been “young and impressionable” and “was in the hands of a more experienced person”.

The judge accepted that there was a suggestion that she had been infatuated by the man but said he had texted her that evening inviting her to his home.

“He also had the presence of mind to hide her when someone called to his home,” Judge McCartan said after commenting that the man knew what he was doing was wrong.

He said he was prepared to be considerably lenient because the man had made “significant changes in his life pattern” having heard evidence that he has not come to garda attention in six years and has now settled down with a partner and is a father.

Judge McCartan suspended the final two years of the three year term on strict conditions.

A local garda told Ms McGowan that the girl reported the incident to gardaí the following day and said she had called to the man's house after he texted her.

She said they were cuddling on the couch and then began kissing before the man asked her to pull down her pants. She protested but he had sex with her before asking her to leave the room as a friend of his was about to call over.

She later went to her friend's house to sleep over and told her mother what happened the following day.

The garda confirmed that the teenager has decided that she didn't want to make a victim impact report because she wanted to move on. She now has a baby and has “settled down with a partner”.

The garda accepted a suggestion from Michael Durack SC, defending that it was possible that the girl was infatuated with his client.

He said he was aware that the man began abusing drugs from a young age, his parents separated and he was homeless as a young teenager.

Mr Durack said his client was now a relationship and had a three year old daughter. He suggested to the court that his client had “turned over a new leaf” and was no longer a threat to society.

By Sonya McLean

He then told another garda who came on the scene he would give him “five grand”

A DRUNK driver offered a garda “three grand” to walk away when he caught him behind the wheel while over the limit.

Ramin Badalov (38) said: “I will give you three grand now. Right here.”

He then told another garda who came on the scene he would give him “five grand”.

Badalov, a computer sales and repair man and father-oftwo, pleaded guilty to drunk driving when he appeared before Dublin District Court.

Judge Hugh O’Donnell adjourned the case for the production of a pre-sentence probation report.

The court heard gardai were on patrol on September 23, 2014, when they responded to a call that a man was acting suspiciously in a Mercedes.

He was driving at speed out of Beverly Estate, near his home, and turned through three different junctions without indicating. The garda turned on his blue lights and sounded the siren and signalled the driver to stop.

He then identified himself to the driver, who was intoxicated.

When cautioned, Badalov said “he would give me three grand now if I walk away. He said I will give you three grand now. Right here”, the officer said.

Badalov told the garda he was an alcoholic. Another garda then arrived and Badalov told him: “Five grand, five grand.”

He then had to be restrained.

Badalov was arrested and taken to Terenure Garda Station where he had a blood alcohol reading of more than twice the legal limit.

The court heard the accused had three previous convictions for drink-driving.

Badalov, originally from Azerbaijan, was living at Orlagh Grove, Knocklyon, and had been in Ireland for 16 years.

His business had closed down in 2009 because of the recession. He then fell into depression and started drinking, his lawyer said.

Badalov was “heavily intoxicated” at the time of the offence, she continued.

He had not taken drink since then.

“The report is going to have to be very good if he’s to avoid a prison sentence,” the judge said, adjourning the case.

Via Herald.ie

FILE PHOTO

A GALWAY community is reeling today after the death of a young mum and her teenage son.

The young woman who was in her 30s was killed alongside her 14-year-old son when the car they were travelling in hit a tree at around 9.45pm on Sunday night.

The victims have been named locally as Tina Kelly and her son Joey.

The Kelly family is well known in the area and in horse racing circles, as the woman’s father Tom Kelly is a well known horse trainer.

Locals in Ballygar Co Galway told of their shock this morning as news of the double tragedy spread.

This is the second tragedy to befall the family in recent years. In December 2014, Tina’s sister died at the family home.

Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Michael Connolly said the area was reeling this morning as news of the tragedy spread.

“They are just the nicest family and really well respected in the area. This is a huge shock for the whole community who will rally around the family.

“It’s a terrible situation and everybody is in a state of shock this morning. Her parents Tom and Margaret are lovely people and have already suffered a terrible loss with the death of another daughter Carol just a year and a half ago.

“It’s a huge shock and a terrible tragedy to have lost two daughters and a grandson in such a short space of time,” he said.

The heartbroken Kelly family, including parents Tom and Margaret, two brothers and one surviving sister are being comforted by family and neighbours this morning.

Ms Kelly and her son were the only occupants of the car when it hit the tree last night. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

It is understood a nurse came on the scene of the accident last night but was unable to do anything to help the mother and her young son.

A local priest also attended the scene and prayed for the tragic family.

Their remains were taken to University Hospital Galway where post mortem examinations will be carried out.

The road is closed this morning to allow Gardai to carry out a technical examination.

Via Independent.ie

Naoufal Fassih

A man arrested in April in a luxury apartment believed by gardai to be linked to the Kinahan criminal gang has appeared before the High Court on foot of a European Arrest Warrant seeking his surrender to the Netherlands.

Naoufal Fassih (36) is wanted in the Netherlands on charges of money laundering, assault and possessing false documentation.

A Dutch national of Moroccan origin, Fassih was arrested in April during a raid on an apartment on Baggot St.

Today, at the High Court, Detective Sergeant Sean Fallon told counsel for the State, Ronan Kennedy BL, that he arrested Mr Fassih today on foot of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW).

The detective said that Fassih is wanted in Holland on money-laundering offences, arising out of a search conducted in Dublin in April. 

Previously, Fassih appeared at the High Court in April, on foot of an earlier EAW, issued by the Dutch police, seeking his extradition on charges of money laundering, assault and possessing false documentation.

Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly said that she was satisfied the man in court was the man named in the new EAW.

She remanded Fassih in custody until this Wednesday, July 27th, when his case is listed for mention again. 

In April, at Dublin District Court, Fassih was charged with possessing a false passport and identity card. 

During that hearing, gardai told the court they believed the apartment was connected to the Kinahan gang. 

The court also heard that Fassih was wearing €800 runners and a €40,000 watch when he was arrested.

He was also charged with an offence under the Immigration Act and a minor drugs charge for simple possession of cannabis.

Last month, at Cloverhill District Court, Fassih pleaded guilty to possessing a false passport and cannabis.

By Daniel Hickey

dublin-airport-has-been-evacuated-this-morning.jpg

A Lithuanian man caught bringing over €90,000 of cocaine into Dublin airport in a whiskey container “in return for a short holiday in Ireland” has been given a four and a half year sentence.

Mantis Kerbelis (23), unemployed and recently divorced, said he had become involved in the offence in return for a short holiday in Ireland. He had €1 on his person when arrested.

Kerbelis, who has been in custody since his arrest at the airport, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the drugs for sale or supply at Terminal Two on February 5, 2016

Judge Melanie Greally noted Kerbelis's “good level of co-operation” and said she was able to depart from the presumptive minimum sentence of ten years applicable to this offence. She said he appeared to be under the instructions of people higher up the drugs hierarchy.

Judge Greally imposed a four and a half year sentence but suspended the final 18 months on condition he leave the country within seven days of his release from prison.

Garda Aoife McEvoy told Cormac Quinn BL, prosecuting, that Kerbelis was stopped by customs officials after travelling to Dublin via Dubai and an x-ray of his luggage revealed a whiskey container holding 83 pellets of cocaine with a value of €91,079.

Kerbelis said he had not known they were inside the container. He said tickets had been bought for him and he had travelled to Dubai where a man in a toilet had given him the whiskey container. A man was to meet him in Dublin to collect the container.

Kerbelis has one previous conviction in Lithuanian for an incident of domestic violence.

Gda McEvoy agreed with Dominic McGinn SC, defending, that Kerbelis had fully engaged with the customs officers and gardaí.

Mr McGinn said Kerbelis had worked in the area of electromechanics but lost his job “because of the vagaries of the economy” and the subsequent financial difficulties caused severe problems in his marriage. He and his wife, who have one small child, have since divorced.

He said Kerbelis recognised the huge risk he took in return for a short holiday was “completely misguided.” He submitted that his client was not a career criminal and the offence was out of character.

Counsel said Kerbelis has been using his time in custody productively and had not come to any adverse garda attention.

By Fiona Ferguson

John Fielding

A 46-year-old man has been jailed for four years and 10 months for using a camera pen to covertly film children in public places.

John Fielding, of Old Winton Road, Andover, Hampshire, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court after pleading guilty to four counts of outraging public decency, six counts of making indecent photographs of a child, two counts of possessing a prohibited image of a child, two counts of possessing extreme pornography and three counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

The court heard that Fielding was confronted by a customer at the Lidl store in Western Avenue, Andover, who had become suspicious of his behaviour. A camera pen was later found in his bag.

Pc Stephen Court, of Hampshire Police, said: "John Fielding is a devious man who used covert methods to film children in public places.

"This offending came to light thanks to the actions and bravery of a vigilant member of public who had spotted Fielding acting suspiciously in the Andover Lidl store on May 27.

"I would like to place on record my thanks to this customer, and to the other members of the public, who showed bravery and restraint in detaining Fielding in the store until officers arrived."

Gardai at the scene of the shooting in 2014

A 60-year-old man shot dead a mother of six and injured her daughter as they sat drinking tea in their kitchen because he believed they were calling him a paedophile, a murder trial jury has heard.

James Redmond (60) with an address at Killinarden Estate, Tallaght, Dublin 24 is charged with murdering Mary Dargan and attempting to murder Karina Dargan at their home in Killinarden Estate on March 15, 2014.

This morning Mr Redmond pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the two charges at the Central Criminal Court.

Before the prosecution opened its case, defence counsel Mr Brendan Grehan SC made a number of admissions of fact to the court on behalf of his client.

The barrister told the court that Mr Redmond pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the two charges and admitted that he had committed the acts of killing Mary Dargan and attempting to kill her daughter Karina. Mr Grehan also admitted that his client was lawfully arrested and detained by gardai after the event.

“James Redmond held a firearms licence for the shotgun which he owned and used in the shooting on that date. He has been in custody since March 15, 2014 and in the Central Mental Hospital since the end of March 2014,” said counsel.

Opening the case for the prosecution Ms Pauline Walley SC told the jury of seven men and five women that Ms Dargan was killed while she was drinking tea in the kitchen of her home with her adult daughters on March 15.

Her daughter Karina was shot in the head but survived.

“The accused man said he carried out those physical and horrendous acts. The issue you will have to decide is if the accused possessed the necessary intent at the time or was he suffering from a mental disorder. Two mental experts accept that Mr Redmond did not possess the necessary intent at the time and you will hear from them,” she
said.

Prosecution counsel told the jury that both families were neighbours and they had lived “peacefully and amicably side by side” in the Killinarden Estate for many years.

“Mr Redmond had become depressed some months earlier and he believed Mary Dargan and her daughter were chanting that he was a paedophile and it was being said about him in the community,” said Ms Walley.

The court heard that Mr Redmond left his home, jumped over the back wall with a shotgun and then shot Mary Dargan.

The bullet severed the 66 year old's artery and she died.

The accused then shot Karina Dargan in the head as she attempted to run from the kitchen.

“As Karina was calling for her brother Gary who was watching television in the next room, he leapt off the sofa and overcame James Redmond who had the gun in his hand. It is like something out of a horror story and is very upsetting,” she said.

A neighbour came to the assistance of Karina, brought her to hospital and “thankfully she survived.”

Gary Dargan then “overpowered” the accused and detained him in the hallway.

“The accused man told Garda Gildea at the scene that he shot Mary Dargan as she was calling him a paedophile. He said in later garda interviews that Mary and her daughter had been calling him a paedophile and had engaged in mind games with him. He said Karina was chanting at night time and he could hear these chants coming through the attic.  He also believed that Karina said his wife was a whore and his daughter was a hardcore porn star,” said Ms Walley.

Counsel told the jury that both families got on well and “nothing untoward” had ever happened between them.

Ms Walley said the jury would hear that the accused’s family became concerned about him at the end of 2013.

“Mr Redmond went to visit a GP in January 2014 who noted he was of low mood and getting depressed. He was only getting a few hours sleep a night so he was prescribed sleeping tablets,” she said.

The barrister said the court would hear that on two occasions in January 2014 Mr Redmond approached gardai in Tallaght and claimed he was being accused by Mary Dargan and her daughter of being a paedophile.

“On another occasion he claimed people on the street believed he was a paedophile. He claimed this had been happening for a number of months and he insisted gardai record this,” she said.

The prosecution counsel said the jury would also hear that the accused was prescribed medication at the end of January 2014, a couple of months before the killing.

Counsel for the State then called Karina Dargan to give evidence.

Ms Dargan told the court that in March 2014 she was living in her mother’s house with her daughter which had been the family home for many years.

Her brother Gary had also been living in the house at the time as he was looking for a place to live.

“I remember sitting at the kitchen table with my mum, my sister Jessie and her son. We were having a giggle about Jessie’s upcoming wedding. I looked out at the corner of my eye and I saw him coming towards me. The blinds were open as it was a nice day out. I saw him walking in slow and calmly. He said ‘Are you fucking laughing now’,” she said.

“I thought he was coming in to say he had found this (the gun) and the kids are out the front,” she said.

The court heard that Mr Redmond then shot her mother in the side of her face.

“I ran to get Gary and I heard a bang and I went down. I just saw Gary’s feet running by me and I got up. My daughter was at the hall door. I knew my mother died immediately, I knew when I looked at her,” she said.

She got a gunshot wound to the right hand side of her head.

The court heard there was no damage to her skull, it was tissue damage.

Ms Dargan said she then walked into the sitting room and grabbed a cushion to stop her head bleeding.

The court heard Ms Dargan knew the accused for the previous 28 years since they moved into the house next door.

“He looked at my mother like he was her worst enemy. I thought it was a joke at first then he pulled up the rifle and I knew he was serious. He looked like something possessed out of The Exorcist,” she said.

Ms Dargan said she then ran out of the house and her neighbour brought her to Tallaght Hospital.

Another neighbour then rang 999 and got an ambulance for her mother.

The court heard that Ms Dargan had seen Mr Redmond that morning when she was putting out the bins.

“He said hello and I said hello. He was washing his car and then he went to the pub to watch the match. There was never any problems or cross words had,” she said.

Ms Walley then called Gary Dargan to give evidence.

Mr Dargan referred to his deceased mother as “salt of the earth.”

The court heard their dad had passed away in 1996 and they were a “very close family.”

“Anyone that spoke to her always had a good word to say about her, she was gigantically loved,” he said.

Mr Dargan said that he was on the sofa watching the Wales rugby match when he heard two loud bangs.

“I heard a gasp of terror. Something said to me there is someone in there that should not be there,” he said.

“I got into the room and I saw this filthy soul with the gun. He did not expect to see me. He had a long gun. I walloped him with my right hand and knocked him out, he fell and the gun fell to the floor,” he said.

Mr Dargan told the court that he could see the damage to his mother’s face.

“I prayed on behalf of my mother and wished her to go to heaven. My mother never said anything about him, I always sensed something foreboding about him,” he said.

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Robert Eagar.

By Alison O’Riordan

Anthony Kelly

BOSSES at Sky Sports have been left red-faced after they featured a well-known Limerick 'hardman' in a tribute to new England manager Sam Allardyce.

The sports channel broadcast a package by their news team on Allardyce - a former Limerick FC manager - over the weekend, which included interviews with former players and staff.

However, eyebrows have been raised about the decision to interview Anthony Kelly in the report.

Described on the Sky Sports report as a “Limerick fan”, Kelly (55)  is well-known in Limerick and has a criminal background.

The Sky report told the story of how new England boss Sam Allardyce started his managerial career at Limerick FC more than 25 years ago.

At the time the club's chairman, Fr Joe Young, decided to give Allardyce his shot on the managerial ladder.

His management style had an instant impact on the club and they finished first in their division to gain promotion to the top tier of Irish football in the 1991/92 season.

In the report, Sky Sports interviewed a range of people connected to Allardyce – including former assistant manager Billy Kinnane and the club owner.

However, in the middle of the report, Kelly, known across Limerick city, makes an appearance.

Celebrating Allardyce’s appointment, Kelly expresses his delight for the new England boss.

“He was a very good motivator and brought the very best out of them,” Kelly told Sky Sports of Big Sam’s time on Shannonside.

“When they (Limerick) got promotion it was like winning the Premier League for him,” he added.

Known as a ‘Hardman’, Kelly has been investigated by the gardaí in connection with a number of investigations.

More than 30 years ago, Kelly was acquitted of killing Limerick brothers Thomas and Sammy McCarthy in a row at a pub at Thomondgate on December 12, 1982.

Kelly has survived a number of assassination attempts on his life, including a hit when he was shot five times from a semi-automatic handgun. He made a full recovery.

His brother and Limerick City Councillor Michael Kelly was also investigated by gardaí for alleged interference with the course of justice, but no prosecution arose.

Michael Kelly died in June 2004, four weeks after he was found with a gunshot wound to the head at his mother’s home.

Despite claims by Anthony Kelly and other family members that he was murdered, gardaí ruled out any foul play in his dead. Anthony even had his brother’s coffin and remains exhumed to prove that no gun had been buried with his brother.

In 2005, Kelly survived at least three gun attacks on his life.

He has publicly admitted to having convictions for a public order offence, illegal tobacco and relating to the operation of a shebeen.

In 2011, a jury again found him not guilty of possession of a semi-automatic pistol arising from a shooting incident.

“I will say on the record that I will defend myself, my family and my property,” Mr Kelly has said of his hardman reputation.

Sky Sports did not respond to queries.

A 38 year old male was fatally injured when the 4X4 vehicle he was driving collided with a ditch

Gardaí at Leixlip Co Kildare are investigating a single vehicle fatal road traffic collision which occurred at Ladychapel, Maynooth, Co Kildare (R408) at approximately 3.15pm this afternoon

A 38 year old male was fatally injured when the 4X4 vehicle he was driving collided with a ditch.

A female passenger was taken to Naas General Hospital with minor injuries.

No other persons were involved.

The road was closed to facilitate an examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators but has since reopened. 

Gardaí wish to appeal for witnesses to contact Leixlip Garda Station on 01-666 7800 The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

Overhead shot of the scene via Tokyo TV

Nineteen people are dead and at least 45 people have been injured in a knife attack outside Tokyo, a Japanese news agency reported.

A man attacked a centre for the disabled in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, west of Tokyo then turned himself in, police said, according to Kyodo news agency.

Broadcaster NHK said 15 people were killed and 45 injured in the attack and the 26-year-old suspect was a former employee at the centre.

Japanese media said staff called police at 2.30 a.m. local time with reports of a man armed with a knife on the grounds of the Tsukui Yamayuri Garden facility.

He then broke into the building with the knife.

Armed police stormed the building in the early hours in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Asahi Shimbun reported that the suspect was quoted by police as saying "I did it. I want to get rid of the disabled from this world."

Fifteen people were confirmed dead while four were in a state of cardiac arrest, the reports said

The suspect is described as a man in his 20s and has been arrested, the media reports said.

According to local reports, he is a former employee of the home.

Television footage showed a number of ambulances parked outside the centre, with medics and other rescue workers running in and out.

In 2001, a man with a history of mental illness entered a primary school in the western city of Osaka and killed eight children in a frenzied knife attack.

More to follow...