Munster Express Online

A County Tipperary man who was given an eight months suspended jail sentence for false imprisonment of a youth in Cappoquin, committed a number of public order offences within a period of five weeks after sentence.

Father of three Denis Ryan (25), with an address at Lake Road Halting Site, Tipperary, pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning Luke Kiekebos at Cappoquin when he sat into the youth’s car and damanded to be driven to a destination.

At the Circuit Criminal Court in Waterford last week Barrister Noel Whelan, instructed by Waterford State Solicitor Frank Hutchinson, for the DPP, said the eight months prison sentence was imposed on February 2 last and it was suspended on the defendant being of good behaviour for 18 months.

But on March 14 last he was convicted of public order offences for intoxication in public, engaging in threatening behaviour, refusing to move on and failing to provide his name and address to the Gardai, for which he was sentenced to nine months imprisonment.

Ms Elaine Morgan BL, instructed by David Burke, Solicitor, Dungarvan, defending, said the circumstances of the case were slightly unusual. During a vacation sitting of the court in Clonmel last August the defendant was brought before Judge Thomas Teehan and given a nine months suspended sentence for public order matters.

Ms Morgan asked the court to backdate the suspended sentence in respect of the Cappoquin offence and said that public order offences were at the lower end of the scale of seriousness. The defendant’s wife was concerned about his non availability on the domestic front. Alcohol underpinned his difficulties and he was receiving assistance in prison with his problem. He was due for release on March 3 next.

Judge Rory McCabe read a letter submitted by the defendant and said the problem he had with the case was that the defendant did not acknowledge his guilt.

The Judge said he took the view that the defendant gave an undertaking in court to be of good behaviour and he would have to accept the consequences. But he felt it would be penalising him “on the double” if the County Waterford sentence was reactivated.

The Judge added that he proposed to accept that the defendant was in breach of his undertaking and find that it would be disproportionate to reactivate the eight months sentence.