A Co Cork man found guilty of assaulting a census official has received a six month suspended sentence, with a warning from the judge as to his future conduct.
Michael Allen (66) of Garylucas, Garretstown, had pleaded not guilty to assaulting Kieran Burns when the census supervisor visited his home with his colleague Laura Coholan on March 15th last year.
Bandon District Court heard that when Ms Coholan had paid a visit to Allen’s property on March 6th to deliver census forms, he told her: “I do not give a f**k who you are. Get the hell off my property.”
Ms Coholan said she was “taken aback” by this, telling Judge James McNulty she had never encountered anything like it. She explained to the court that as a census enumerator for the Kinsale area, she was responsible for some 350 households.
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The court heard Ms Coholan returned to the property with Mr Burns on March 15th.
Both census workers said that Allen first opened a window and told them, aggressively, to leave. Mr Burns said that Allen then opened the door and rushed out, pushing him.
“We were frozen to the spot,” Mr Burns said. “I just wanted to try to explain to the gentleman that this [the census] was no big deal.”
Garda Richard O’Sullivan told the court he received a call from the census takers and went to the property, where Allen said he would not be making a statement.
Garda O’Sullivan said Allen recorded that interaction on his phone.
Allen’s census form was subsequently posted to his home and completed, the court heard.
Mr Burns rejected an assertion from defence solicitor Killian O’Mullane that it could have been posted as soon as it became obvious, on March 6th, that his client did not wish to engage.
Allen rejected the evidence of both census staff, saying he did not assault anyone and that Mr Burns had assaulted him in what Mr O’Mullane described as “argy bargy”.
Allen said he and his family were very security conscious as a result of an attempted burglary and anxiety on the part of his wife, something also attested to by his daughter in evidence.
The judge said Allen’s evidence was unsatisfactory and sentenced him to six months, suspended, on condition he keep the peace. He said this would extend to social media and that there should be no posts relating to Ms Coholan or Mr Burns.
The judge said an assault on a public servant was a grave offence and an aggravating factor, adding that it was “bad form, to put it mildly” and “unworthy of him”.