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In the Courts

Jail term for sex assault

A 38 year old Albanian refugee was jailed recently for aggravated sexual assault at his Snugborough Road apartment.

Florian Begaj, who has lived in Ireland for the past seven years, met his 39 year old victim at a Dublin city centre nightclub, offering to buy her a drink. He told her he was from Greece and that his name was Anton.

Later that night, the woman separated from her friends on O’Connell Street and was trying to flag down a taxi when Begaj offered her a lift home. Instead he drove to his Blanchardstown apartment. Once there, he drank whiskey, forced her down on his sofa, removed her trousers and physically assaulted her when she struggled to get free.

He went to the Garda station voluntarily a few days later but denied the woman’s allegations of assault, claiming she had removed her own clothes. He subsequently pleaded not guilty to rape and aggravated sexual assault.

After a five day trial, Begaj was cleared of rape but convicted of aggravated sexual assault.

Mr. Justice George Birmingham said he was impressed by the number of character testimonials he had heard, especially those from women. This, he said, showed that the father of three was ordinarily respectful of women.

The incident, however, had been extremely unpleasant for the victim, who had been left in a very shocked and distressed state. Sentencing Begaj to three and a half years, he directed that he be placed on the sex offenders’ register and that he undergo post-release supervision.

Man charged over Hartstown killing

A man has been charged in connection with the killing of father of two Wayne Doherty in Hartstown last year.

Robert Egan, 26, of Dromheath Avenue, Mulhuddart was charged at Blanchardstown District Court with the unlawful possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. The court heard that the accused made no comment when he was charged.

A brother of Jason Egan who was shot after locking up his shop in Ladyswell last year, Robert Egan made no application for bail and was remanded in custody by Judge Patrick McMahon to appear before Cloverhill District Court.

Wayne Doherty’s killing sparked national outrage last July when he was hit by a shotgun blast outside his parents’ home in Oakview Way after going to the assistance of a friend.

                           Man who insulted Garda awarded damages

A man who insulted a Garda while in custody at Blanchardstown Garda station has been awarded €8,500 in damages after the Garda struck him twice in the face.

Salko Osmanovic, 22, from Lusk, had brought an action for damages against the Garda Commissioner and the Attorney General for wrongful assault and battery while he had been in custody at the station in January 2006.

On the night in question Mr Osmanovic, a tyre fitter, had been struck on the nose following an altercation outside a nightclub. Gardaí had been called and he and one of his friends had been detained. He admitted that he had had a number of drinks at the club and at a pub earlier that night.

He and his friend were handcuffed and brought to Blanchardstown Garda Station. While there, his friend, who delivered fast food, recognised one of the gardaí as someone to whom he regularly made deliveries.

Mr. Osmanovic then called over to the Garda, who was allegedly a large person, "You like your Chinese, don't you, you fat c**t?" According to the plaintiff, the Garda then struck him on the face and asked him to repeat the phrase. When Mr. Osmanovic duly obliged, the Garda in question struck him again.

Following the alleged assault he was placed in a cell with his friend. It was claimed that Mr Osmanovic then became very ill and started throwing up blood. Concerned at this, his friend brought this to the attention of the gardaí, who called an ambulance.

Mr Osmanovic was brought to hospital and diagnosed as having a fracture to his jaw and one of his teeth had become loose. He required surgery and his jaw was wired.

The state denied Mr Osamanovic's claims. It maintained that any injuries that he sustained were as a result of being involved in the fracas outside a nightclub before being brought into custody.

After two days of hearing evidence and ninety minutes of deliberation, the jury agreed that Mr Osmanovic was struck by a Garda and awarded him €8,500 in damages. He also secured a further €740 in special damages.

                                 Science graduate made bomb components

A 36 year old Dublin 15 man has been sentenced to five years in prison by the Special Criminal Court for possessing components for explosive devices.

Ciaran Cahill of Glenview Drive, Blanchardstown, a science graduate, had pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing explosive substances, namely five pipe bomb casings, at a property on Ulster Street, Phibsboro in March 2009.

The three judge court heard that, prior to the incident, Cahill had been a highly regarded science student who had returned to Ireland with a reference from a Nobel Prize winner. He had started up a business cutting pipes after he had difficulties finding other employment here and was offered some work making pipe casings.

Detective Garda Thomas Maguire of the Special Detective Unit told the court that a balaclava and a bag containing the casings were discovered in a shed during a Garda raid. The army bomb disposal team was alerted and the items were later examined by an expert from the Garda ballistics section.

The casings had not been filled with explosive substances and were not drilled for fuses but were considered components for explosive devices under relevant legislation. After Mr Cahill’s DNA was obtained from the handle of the shopping bag, he was arrested and interviewed by investigating gardaí with whom he cooperated fully.

Mr Cahill told the court he had serious regrets over the ridiculous incident that had destroyed his life. He admitted he had had concerns that the casings might be used as pipe bombs but had put these to the back of his mind.

The Court noted the seriousness of the offence, adding that Mr Cahill was “clearly a cog in some form of assembly machine” for explosive devices. However, they took into account his relatively blameless life prior to the incident and his promise not to further engage in such behaviour.

Handing down the five year term, the Court suspended half of it and decreed that the term was to be backdated to August 2009.

                                        Sentence frozen for ice cream van theft

A Whitestown Park teenager who went on a crime spree over a two week period in February was given a two-year suspended sentence at Blanchardstown District Court recently.

Kevin Heffernan, 19, smashed the window of an ice cream van parked in the owner’s driveway in Westhaven and stole the contents of the till, worth €100 and €50 in cash. Then he broke into a taxi parked in the same driveway and stole a satellite navigation system worth €200.

He also broke into a car parked beside the van and took another sat-nav, which has not been recovered. Later, he was caught handling a stolen cheque worth €3,763 at Ashtown. He was apprehended by gardaí after his fingerprints were found inside the ice-cream van.

The court heard that Heffernan had 22 previous convictions, and was currently serving a five-month sentence in St Patrick's Institution. His father, John Heffernan, said he believed his son was a changed man since he went into custody.

Imposing a two-year suspended sentence, the judge warned Heffernan not to come before him again in the next two years or he would be heading for another custodial sentence.

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