Teen ordered to write apology letters to victims of crime sprees in Cork city

Judge Mary Dorgan was about to sentence the teenager at the Children’s Court at the courthouse on Anglesea Street today but instead she adjourned it for a fortnight for the accused to get busy writing apologies.

“You have a shocking number of cases before the court,” Judge Dorgan said to the teenager. The 17-year-old appeared with his mother and represented by his solicitor Emma Leahy.

Inspector Brian O’Donovan said: “In fairness to him he has been behaving himself recently and he has been progressing well.”

The judge said she was glad to hear that and then turned to the accused. She said sentencing had an element of punishment but was also about rehabilition.

“Would you consider writing letters – not to the victims directly - but to your solicitor to be sent to them. You have a shocking number of charges.

You have an awful lot of letter-writing to do. I will adjourn it for a fortnight and you can bring a good bundle of letters to court the next time.

“If it was my car I would not be happy. The victims did not write victim impact statements but I am sure they are not happy about it.”

Inspector O’Donovan said that in one spree of offences carried out by the accused – on January 6 2019 in the Blackrock/ Boreenmanna Road area – several cars were broken into and property stolen.

“The owners were elderly and woke to find their cars had been opened overnight and someone had rifled through their personal property,” the inspector said.

The judge said the letter-writing would be taken into consideration as part of the sentencing to be imposed in a fortnight.

As well as breaking into cars, the defendant had multiple counts of dangerous driving of cars, and one of having cocaine for his own use.