Man’s use of nephew to transport stolen goods ‘a new low’

A judge has described as “a new low” how a man used his 14-year-old nephew to transport a stash of stolen goods taken during a burglary in Dublin.

The teenager was before the Dublin Children’s Court on Wednesday to face a charge of possessing stolen property. Defence solicitor Miska Hanahoe told Judge John O’Connor the boy was pleading guilty.

Garda Richard Pender told the court that on the afternoon of June 30th, 2016 he observed the uncle – a known criminal – cycling with a bag on his back. The garda drove to the man’s home in south Dublin in the belief that he was in possession of stolen property.

Garda Pender parked and watched the house and witnessed the man hand the bag to the boy who then cycled away. He was arrested nearby and the bag was found to contain a Go-pro camera, two iPhones, a Samsung tablet, a Lorus watch and an LG Nexus phone.

The property had been taken during the course of a burglary in Ranelagh, Dublin, earlier that day. The teen, who has no prior criminal convictions, was arrested for handling the goods.

The defence solicitor told the court the teen did not look in the bag and his uncle had asked him to bring it to another location.

‘New low’

At that point in the proceedings Judge O’Connor remarked, “We have hit a new low where criminals are using a child this age for such a crime”.

The boy’s distressed mother then spoke up and said, “I do apologise, he has never been in trouble”. She said the boy was “very stressed” and she was sorry that her son had “made the biggest mistake”.

The woman said she no longer speaks to her brother, the man who gave her son the bag of stolen property.

Judge O’Connor said to use a child like this was appalling and the mother agreed saying it was horrendous. “I don’t want to see him going to prison”.

He noted that the Probation Service found the boy suitable for inclusion in a crime diversion plan which could leave him without a criminal conviction.

The case was adjourned until a date in April.