THE case against a Kerryman caught making a bogus collection for Trócaire in Skibbereen has been adjourned to a September sitting of Bantry District Court.
Judge James McNulty had heard evidence in the case against John Burke of 72 Rathoonane, Monavalley, Tralee, at a previous court but adjourned it to the recent sitting for the production of €500, which was imposed on the accused for driving without insurance at The Mills in Skibbereen on July 4th, 2023.
The accused was also convicted of making an unauthorised charity collection using a false ID, but Judge McNulty adjourned that charge to the September 12th sitting for the production of a probation report.
He also indicated that he was considering giving the accused the benefit of a suspended sentence on that date.
Judge James McNulty was told that it was the second time that the accused has been prosecuted for making an unauthorised collection.
It was a homeowner at The Mills in Skibbereen who alerted gardaí to the offence and Gda Karen O’Flynn went to investigate.
Gda O’Flynn gave evidence of having questioned the 21-year-old accused who had a Trócaire sponsorship card in another man’s name and €85 in cash.
In mitigation, solicitor Colette McCarthy said her client has his ‘limitations’ and that he and his wife had been homeless until they were taken in by his mother.
‘That doesn’t entitle him to do a bogus collection and get money from kind people who want to give money to Trócaire,’ said the judge.
Ms McCarthy said her client had stopped functioning well after he was the victim of a serious assault, in which part of his ear was bitten off.
And she asked the judge to be as lenient as possible.
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