A man jailed for five years for sexually assaulting a woman he met on internet dating app Tinder will wait to hear if the Court of Appeal will reduce his sentence.

Paul Flaherty (30) was found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court last December of sexually assaulting a woman at his home on Kiltipper Avenue, Tallaght, Dublin on August 31, 2015.

The incident took place while Flaherty’s parents were in the next-door bedroom. Flaherty and his victim met for drinks earlier that day after exchanging messages on Tinder.

Appealing the five-year sentence, Michael O’Higgins SC told the three-judge court ….read more

by Gerard Cunningham

The fully suspended sentences handed down to two men who acted as “drug mules” in a €147k drug operation were too lenient, the DPP has told the Court of Appeal.

Paul Goddard (58), of Cloonlara Road, Finglas and Derek Naylor (47) of Dunmanus Road, Cabra West, Dublin, received four-year suspended sentences from Judge Karen O’Connor in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in January 2018.

The two men pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis resin valued at €147,498 at Clearwater Shopping Centre car park, Finglas on August 24, 2016. Goddard also admitted possession of amphetamine and cannabis at his home ….read more

(File Picture: Survivor Ms Sonya Stokes. Credit: Collins)

The Court of Appeal has upheld a 15-year prison sentence imposed on a serial abuser who was convicted of the rape and sexual assault of his niece in 2015.

Joseph Hogan (66) of Rose Court, Keyes Park, Limerick city, also has previous convictions for sexual assault in both Ireland and the UK, the earliest dating back to 1973.

Hogan was sentenced in March 2015 to 15 years on three counts of rape, and one count of attempted rape, with ten year sentences to run concurrently for three additional counts of sexual assault, following a trial ….read more

A man jailed for raping his wife after she asked a judge not to send him to prison has had his sentence increased by the Court of Appeal.

The three judge court found that the original sentence of five years with two suspended “did not adequately reflect the gravity of the offending conduct” and increased the sentence to seven-and-a-half years with two suspended.

The 38-year-old man, who cannot be identified to protect the victim’s identity, was found guilty following a trial at the Central Criminal Court of raping and sexually assaulting his wife at their home in Dublin on August 30, 2015. ….read more

The Court of Appeal has upheld the sentence handed down to a Nigerian man convicted of money laundering after €32,000 was sent to his bank account by a financial institution after a fraud.

Prince Ajibola (51) was sentenced by Judge Pauline Codd at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 29 May 2019 to four years in prison, with the final two years suspended, after pleading guilty to money laundering on 26 March 2019.

Mr Ian Fitzharris BL said that the sentence given to his client was “excessive and unduly severe” and that some of the blame might have been put on him for ….read more

A man given seven years for his role in “a large scale drug distribution hub” has had his sentence increased to ten years by the Court of Appeal.

Stephen Sarsfield (39), of New Street Gardens, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to possessing €4,170,932 of cannabis and heroin for sale or supply at an address on Ballyfermot Drive, on July 17, 2017. He had four minor previous convictions.

The three-judge appeal court found that the original seven-year sentence was unduly lenient given the “enormous scale of the activity”.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court previously heard that Sarsfield was spotted transferring boxes of cannabis from a ….read more

by Gerard Cunningham

A burglar who told a Mayo pensioner he was a garda when discovered in the middle of a break-in has had his sentence appeal dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

Martin Conroy (45) was sentenced in Castlebar Circuit Court by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin on June 12, 2018 to five years imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended, on condition that he attend residential treatment for alcohol addiction.

A further charge of impersonating a garda was taken into consideration.

Mr Conroy’s legal team argued that a lighter sentence was merited as there was “no significant pre-planning” of the crime, and Mr ….read more

by Gerard Cunningham

A man who fired a handgun through the window of a house in Cork city, hitting a young woman in the neck, has moved to appeal his 14-year sentence.

Gavin Sheehan (31), with an address at Laurel Ridge, Shanakiel, Cork city, was found guilty of the possession of a firearm and ammunition, reckless discharge of a firearm and assault causing serious harm to Ciara Sheehan, to whom he is not related, on May 15, 2016. He had denied the charge.

Sheehan was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment with the final three years suspended by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin on February ….read more

(Pictured: Alan Curtis. Credit: Collins)

A Dublin man who fractured a teenage boy’s skull with a hurley while dispersing a group of youths who had gathered outside his mother’s home and damaged his car has had his jail time doubled by the Court of Appeal.

Alan Curtis (35), of Stannaway Road, Kimmage, had pleaded not guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to then 16-year-old David McClelland at Cashel Road, Crumlin, Dublin, on March 28, 2014.

Despite claiming self-defence, Curtis was found guilty by a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court and sentenced to four years imprisonment with the final two ….read more

A man jailed for a one-punch assault which left his victim with “life-changing” injuries has had his four-and-a-half year jail term cut in half by the Court of Appeal.

Mark O’Sullivan (29), of Old Connaught View, Bray, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to David Kirwan near the James Everett Park area of Bray on January 15, 2017.

Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court heard that O’Sullivan struck a single blow to the back of Mr Kirwan’s head with his fist. He stayed at the scene and called an ambulance, placed Mr Kirwan in the recovery position and pleaded ….read more