..
Former politician admits sexually assaulting eight-year-old girl
Cork Circuit Criminal Court
Ralph Riegel
January 31 2023 12:02 PM
A FORMER politician has pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of an eight year old girl.
The man - who cannot be named for legal reasons - pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the young girl at an address in Cork almost 20 years ago.
Judge Helen Boyle was told by Lily Buckley BL, for the State, that the man had indicated in advance in writing that he would plead guilty when the matter first came before Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
The man, who is in his 50s, was charged with sexual assault of the eight year old girl at an address in Cork on a date between November 1 and 7, 2003.
The charge was brought contrary to Common Law and Section 2 of the Criminal Law Rape Amendment Act, 1990.
When asked how he pleaded, the man replied 'Guilty' in a loud voice.
Wearing a green jacket, jumper and dark slacks, the man only spoke previously in court to confirm his identity.
Ms Buckley said the State was seeking that the matter be adjourned until the next sessions of the Circuit Criminal Court. This was to facilitate the preparation of expert reports to aid the court with sentencing.
The victim will also be offered the opportunity to submit a victim impact statement before the sentence is imposed.
Kate Aherne BL, for the defendant, said her client was in court on consent to bail. However, Ms Aherne said her client was now voluntarily surrendering bail.
Judge Boyle said she would adjourn the matter until April 25 for sentencing. She directed that specific preparations for sentencing be made.
Judge Boyle remanded the defendant in custody until April 25.
She imposed reporting restrictions on the matter and directed that nothing be published which might identify the victim.
Cork teenager blackmailed over intimate photos in
online ‘sextortion’ scam
Gardaí issue warning as blackmailers threaten to share teen’s photos
with family and friends
Bill Browne
Independent
January 30 2023 06:00 PM
GARDAÍ in Cork have warned people about the dangers of so called ‘sextortian’ scams after a Cork teenager was threatened with a blackmail after sharing intimate pictures online.
The warning has come after the teenager struck up an online relationship with someone he believed was female and was persuaded to share intimate photographs with them.
However, the scammer subsequently attempted to extort €500 from the young man, threatening to share the images online with his family and friends if he do not hand over the money.
Fermoy-based community Garda Sergeant John Kelly said that in this particular case the young man wasted no time in informing Gardaí about the incident.
“This kind of scam has the very real potential to devastate lives. People may recall a similar incident a number of years ago in the North that ended in very tragic circumstances,” said Sgt Kelly.
“Thankfully, in this instance the man came to us straight away and we were able to offer him advice and launch an investigation,” he added.
Sgt Kelly said that often it is a case that there can be a certain naivety, particularly among young people, when it comes to sharing intimate images online.
“What some young people do not realise is that the person requesting these photographs could easily be a 40-year-old man grooming them. Or, as in this particular case, some unscrupulous individual trying to blackmail them into handing over money,” said Sgt Kelly.
“People may ask why we are once again warning people about this kind of scam. The fact is that there are always young people using smart-phones and other digital devices for the first time and it is all too easy for them to be held to ransom for making a naive mistake,” he added.
Sgt Kelly urged anyone who may find themselves in a similar situation not to hand over money and report to report it immediately to Gardaí.
“We understand that people might be embarrassed. However, we are completely non-judgemental, so don’t bottle it up and hope that it will go away,” said Sgt Kelly.
“Simply handing over cash does not mean that the scammer may not try to extort more money. The most important thing for us is that people do not fall victim to this kind of thing and have their lives ruined,” he added.
Sgt Kelly said it was vitally important that parents make their children aware of these kind of scams and about the safe us of smart-phones and other technology with online access.
Romance Fraud
On another, not entirely unrelated topic, Sgt Kelly also warned people about the dangers of so-called ‘romance fraud’, citing one example of an elderly man who was conned out of more than €20,000 by someone he made contact with through an online dating website.
He said the scam broadly falls into two categories, one targeting younger people though their social media profiles and the other targeting older people through dating websites.
“In the first instance a person will befriend their victim, often using a stock image from the internet for their profile. Over a period of time they will groom the victim to gain their trust and then request they send them on explicit images,” said Sgt Kelly.
He said the victim will then be sent a message saying the other person has access to their contacts and will send the images to them all as well as post them up on social media unless they pay over a sum of money.
“Another method of extorting money is the scammer will say they need a significant amount money to treat a sick relative, typically a child, and will pay it back. In other instances, the victim can be lured with the false promise of a romantic life together with the perpetrator” said Sgt Kelly.
“The best advice we can give is that people do not, under any circumstances, share personal information or images with people they have met online. These scammers are like fishermen sitting on the riverbank patiently waiting to catch their prey,” he added.
=====================================================================================
Man charged with sexually assaulting five women
on Dublin's Grafton St and South Quays
Dublin District Court
Tom Tuite
Independent
January 31 2023 03:29 PM
A man has been remanded in custody charged with a string of sexual assaults on five women on Dublin's Grafton Street and around the south quays area of the capital.
Kevin Kletzander (31) of no fixed address, appeared before Judge Treasa Kelly at Dublin District Court on Tuesday.
Garda Mark Costello said the accused "made no reply to charge after caution".
The man is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at Grafton Street on August 5 and sexual assault of four other women a week later around the quays.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has directed trial on indictment in the Circuit Court, but a book of evidence has yet to be served on him.
There was no application for bail, and he has not indicated a plea.
Defence solicitor Sean Smith told the court there was "a fitness to be tried issue". He added that he was engaging with his client's psychiatrist, and a report was awaited.
Judge Kelly remanded him in custody pending the preparation of the book of evidence. She acceded to Garda Costello's request to order that he get 48 hours notice in the event of a bail application.
She also directed the Prison Service to give the accused medical attention for his mental health.
He will appear again on February 7.
The court granted legal aid after hearing he was unemployed with no income.
The Quays, Dublin
No comments:
Post a Comment