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Man who abducted his children and left Ireland with them for four years given nine-month jail term

The 46 year-old man kept the children away from their mother without her consent.

A MAN WHO abducted his children and kept them out of Ireland has been jailed for nine months.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that a woman believed her ex-husband (46) had taken their children swimming when he texted her to say they were in another country and would not be back.

He then kept the children away from their mother for four years.

Sergeant Ian Lambe said the man and woman had been having marriage difficulties at the time.

He told the court that over the years, gardaí and various services had been in contact with him trying to find an amicable way to return the children.

The man pleaded guilty to four charges of taking his children out of the country without consent at Dublin Airport on 8 November, 2014.

The man, who cannot be named to protect his children’s identities, has no previous convictions.

Judge Cormac Quinn sentenced the man to two year’s imprisonment, but suspended the final 15 months on condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour and engage with the Probation Service for three months post-release.

The judge said the case was aggravated by the seriousness of the offence, the young ages of the children, the length of time they were out of the jurisdiction, the significant element of deception and pre-planning and the effect the offence had on the children and their mother.

He said the mitigating factors in the case were the man’s age and personal circumstances, his early pleas of guilty, his psychological difficulties and the fact he is a foreign national.

At an earlier sentence hearing, the sergeant told Fionnuala O’Sullivan BL, prosecuting, that in October 2018, the children’s mother contacted him to say her ex-husband would be returning with them to Ireland.

The sergeant said the man met with him voluntarily the day after arriving back to Ireland.

He also said the children, who are now aged from eight to 15 years, have been returned to their mother.

The mother and children did not wish to make victim impact statements. The maximum penalty for the offence is seven years on each charge, the court heard.

The sergeant agreed with lawyers for the man that he had been “extremely anxious” about the matter.

He also agreed that the situation went too far while the man was abroad and he couldn’t turn the clock back.

He further agreed that the man had since had no contact with his children, apart from a phone call with his son for a birthday.

The sergeant added that he did not think the man would come to Garda attention in future.

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    Mute Stephen Devlin
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    May 13th 2016, 10:47 PM

    Probably has 6000 previous convictions .. QUICK .. Someone hand him a 2 year suspended sentence

    221
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    Mute Assel Dannourah
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    May 14th 2016, 7:33 AM

    manslaughter conviction looming

    23
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    Mute screanire
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    May 13th 2016, 11:56 PM

    It’s got to such a ridiculous situation at this stage that I’m actually (in a weird way), rooting for the Hutch faction. I’d prefer if the Gardai started with the vile Kinahan ‘gang’ first. Once they are locked up, lock up the Hutch associates then.

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    Mute Mary Murphy
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    May 14th 2016, 12:45 AM

    Yea and Gerry the formal criminal Hutch too.

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    Mute Seamus McSpud
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    May 14th 2016, 7:19 AM

    I say a mass celebrity death match out of the way in some warehouse in Dublin.

    18
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    Mute Seamus McSpud
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    May 14th 2016, 7:24 AM

    These 2 gangsters were on the front page of every newspaper a few weeks back and only now are arrested … I can only assume they have been in a rat hole somewhere because they haven’t been shot already.
    As I write I’m concluding he probably handed himself in as it’s hard to imagine the guards find him before the hutches

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    Mute Cal McLaughlin
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    May 13th 2016, 10:36 PM

    Great news.
    Important news.
    Hopefully this breakthrough will crack the case open and the people who organised the shootings will be brought to justice.

    66
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    Mute Neil79
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    May 14th 2016, 12:10 AM

    Well done to the boys in blue

    44
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    Mute Ian Phillip Creaner
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    May 13th 2016, 10:45 PM

    Da fugh was dat?

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    Mute Jamie McCormack
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    May 14th 2016, 12:39 AM

    Alan Kelly is the reason we should abandon politics.

    14
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    Mute Jamie McCormack
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    May 14th 2016, 12:44 AM

    Ah I’m only joking, but how do you stop megalomaniacs from coming to power, or are you supposed to just roll with it.

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    Mute paddy
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    May 13th 2016, 10:40 PM

    Wombs of the world untie!

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    Mute Dj
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    May 13th 2016, 10:37 PM

    Two of them might as well been doing a wedding shoot.

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    Mute Wesley Preston
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    May 14th 2016, 12:45 AM

    Loads of commotion on the N32 this evening. Thought it was another shooting

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    Mute Robbie Holland
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    May 14th 2016, 1:48 PM

    Seen that myself loads of Garda surrounded at the side of the road, looked very dodgy.

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    Mute David Conroy
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    May 14th 2016, 3:19 PM

    There were about 14 armed Gardai and they carried out the arrest with precision timing. If the bad guys had have produced a bicycle pump it would have saved the State a fortune ! Job well done !

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    Mute Meehawwl O'Buachailla
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    May 14th 2016, 12:16 AM

    I wonder was it the cross-dresser?

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    Mute Dave
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    May 14th 2016, 12:21 AM

    Yes. It’s the guy who started all this.

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    Mute paddy
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    May 13th 2016, 10:37 PM

    Yeah right

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    Mute Dubabroad
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    May 13th 2016, 10:51 PM

    +234 area code.. Not dodgy at all, must be legit

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    Mute meerkat
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    May 13th 2016, 11:25 PM

    Probably got a shot on winning streak

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    Mute Dave
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    May 13th 2016, 11:45 PM

    Tough luck Patrick.

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    Mute Bill Board
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    May 14th 2016, 9:08 PM

    Young Patrick hutch arrested his brother is the deceased brother Gary “2 KNOWN POLICE INFORMERS” + there father so 3!!! The other arrested was aka MAGO gatley a man who could not leave the hutch faction because they knew he had police informed for previous years and they were going to expose them as a known police informer!!!! Time for the old hutch to get onto there HANDLERS to get the lads out of this

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    Mute james mc donagh
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    May 14th 2016, 11:32 AM

    Great news. Take everyone of those rats off the street,, either in cuffs or a bag…

    5
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