A man given life for the murder of a prostitute’s guardian in a brothel seven years ago has lost an appeal against his conviction.

Polish national Przemyslaw Trebacz (39), last of Bramble Rise, Killynebber, Co Cavan had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Costel Catalin Cretu (38) at Connolly Court, Connolly Street, Cavan between October 13 and 14, 2012. However, he admitted causing criminal damage to a door at the Connolly Court apartment complex, in Cavan, on October 13, 2012.

The defence case was that Trebacz was seeking the services of a prostitute while the prosecution case was that Trebacz ….read more

A man who was a teenager when he boasted about raping a 15-year-old girl at a house party must wait to hear the outcome of two appeals concerning his three-year jail term.

Lawyers for the man, who was aged 16 when he raped the girl, say his three-year jail term was “too long” while lawyers for the Director of Public Prosecutions contend it was too lenient.

The 20-year-old man, whose details cannot be published to protect the victim’s identity, had pleaded not guilty to rape at a house in Co Wexford on July 24, 2014. There was a two year ….read more

The Court of Appeal has been “compelled” to quash a jury verdict which convicted a driver of manslaughter, despite agreement amongst doctors that he met the criteria to be found legally insane.

Polish national Dariusz Alchimionek (44), with an address at Barrow Way, Spa Street, Portarlington, Co Laois, had denied the manslaughter of John Gorman (19) and assault causing harm to his brother, Adam, on December 29, 2015.

The brothers had been returning home from Tullamore when a vehicle driven by Alchimionek suddenly crossed the road into the path of their oncoming car at Ballycrystal, Geashill, Co Offaly.

Tullamore Circuit Criminal ….read more

A first-time offender jailed for a one-punch assault which left his victim with “life-changing” injuries must wait to hear the outcome of an appeal against the severity of his sentence.

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 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 for him ….read more

A former boxing champion who tried “pinning responsibility” for a crash he caused on a woman left with “catastrophic” injuries, has been given an extra 15 months in jail by the Court of Appeal.

Sean Ward (28), with an address at Toberona, Dundalk, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Natasha Keenan (29) as well as driving with no insurance at Carnbeg, Dundalk on October 3, 2015.

Ward was driving while disqualified when he overtook a number of cars at high-speed before crashing head-on into the car of Ms Keenan, in which her ten-month-old baby was ….read more

(File Picture: Mr Yusuf Ali Abdi. Credit: Collins)

A man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia 10 years after a jury found him guilty of murdering his infant son, has had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Yusuf Ali Abdi, with a last address at The Elms, College Road, Clane, Co Kildare, stood trial in 2003 for the murder of his son, Nathan Baraka Andrew Ali, in an apartment at that address on April 17, 2001.

Abdi’s defence at trial was that he was insane and a number of medical experts were called by the defence to support that view. He ….read more

A six-year jail term for sexual abuse of a primary school pupil over approximately six years cannot be said to be too severe, according the Court of Appeal.

The 45-year-old man at the centre of the case, whose details cannot be published to protect the victim’s identity, pleaded guilty to sexual assault, indecent assault and one count of orally raping his nephew at two locations in Limerick between 1989 and 1996.

The Central Criminal Court heard that the victim suffered repeated abuse from the age of six to 12 while his uncle was aged between 16 and 23.

In an emotional victim ….read more

A man who entered the witness box to personally apologise to two boys he sexually abused 30 years earlier has lost an appeal against the severity of his sentence.

Gerard O’Grady (54), with an address at Deerpark, Bandon, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to regularly abusing one of the boys while he was babysitting him and a single instance of abusing the other in the mid-1980s.

The boys, who only felt confident enough to report the abuse 30 years later in 2016, were aged around 10 or older at the time. They requested that O’Grady, who was aged 16-18 at the ….read more

A man who sought to undermine the credibility of a school girl he abused through text messages she was exchanging with a 13-year-old boy has lost an appeal against his conviction.

The 54-year-old Tipperary man, whose details cannot be published to protect the victim’s identity, had denied two counts of sexual assault and two counts of defilement of a child on dates in 2009 and 2010.

He was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to six years imprisonment by Judge Thomas Teehan on June 27, 2014.

The issue at trial was the extent to which the defence would be free ….read more

The State’s longest serving prisoner is set to continue his legal bid for two days temporary release per year.

English national John Shaw (73) has been in custody in Ireland since September 1976, when both he and another English man, Geoffrey Evans, were arrested for the abduction, rape, torture and murder of Elizabeth Plunkett (22) in Wicklow and Mary Duffy (24) in Mayo that year.

Shaw and Evans were both given life sentences at the Central Criminal Court on February 9, 1978.

Evans died in 2012 from an infection after spending more than three years in a vegetative state. He ….read more