Man gets seven years for syringe-point robbery
A convicted rapist who robbed two taxi-drivers at syringe-point and drove off in one of their cars has been jailed for seven years by Judge Patrick McCartan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Michael Whelan (aged 27) was jailed for six years in 2002 by Mr Justice Paul Butler at the Central Criminal Court for raping a 16-year-old girl in a Dublin park. He had 16 other previous convictions.
He stole the car of the second taxi-driver when the man got out of the vehicle as soon as Whelan grabbed him by the neck and threatened him with the syringe.
Whelan of Galtymore Road, Driminagh pleaded guilty to robbery of €135 from one taxi-driver on September 6, 2007 and robbery of €120 from the other man two days later. Both incidents happened in Shancastle Park in Clondalkin.
Defence counsel, Mr Bernard Condon BL, said Whelan had been using “every type of drug” since he was 12 years old and had recently been diagnosed as HIV Positive.
Mr Condon told Judge McCartan that his client had “experienced difficulties” in prison because of his rape conviction and he got Whelan to show the judge “a recent injury” to the side of his face.
Judge McCartan described the offences as “very serious and pernicious robberies” because Whelan was armed with a syringe which he said he used with a degree of determination and left his victims in no doubt that they were “under serious attack”.
He noted that one of the victims was from Holland and had to return there to recover before he came back to Ireland. He didn't go back to work for some time and had a significant loss of earnings as a result.
Judge McCartan said the court needed to protect taxi-drivers who were vulnerable because of the nature of their job, working alone in a confined vehicle and during unsociable hours.
He said he believed Whelan was “beyond rehabilitation” and described his criminal history as appalling. “Who can ever tell when he will do it again,” Judge McCartan said.
Judge McCartan said Whelan was a tragic person who had not had his “fair share in life” after hearing that both his parents had died from HIV and his two brothers now suffer from a drug related illness.
Sergeant Padraic Powell told Ms Monika Leech BL, prosecuting, that both taxi-drivers picked Whelan up around James's Street and were directed to bring him to Shancastle Park.
He told his first victim that the syringe he held to his neck was infected and demanded that the man hand over his wallet and his takings.
He grabbed the second man about the neck and threatened to stab him with the syringe if he also did not hand over his money and wallet.
Sergeant Powell agreed with Mr Condon that Whelan told gardaí he didn't mean to harm any person and he “just needed money for crack cocaine”. Whelan’s crimes were carried out mainly to feed his addiction.
Mr Condon submitted that Whelan’s drug addiction was at the centre of his offending behaviour but he was now on a methadone programme since his remand in custody for this offence.
