Court reports mentioning Buttevant, Cork

2023-03-30 · Dublin

Violent sex attacker came to capital with plan to abduct woman

Maurice Fitzgerald, 29, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to false imprisonment and assaulting a 26‑year‑old woman with chronic schizophrenia on 27 August. The court heard he travelled from Cork to Dublin, bought duct tape and a claw hammer, and planned to abduct the victim. Gardaí were called when residents heard tape being wrapped and the victim screaming. Fitzgerald dragged her, bound her with tape, and gagged her in an alleyway. He was restrained, cuffed, and a knife was used to free tape from her mouth. The victim was taken to Mater Hospital, then transferred to a Midlands hospital under the Mental Health Act. Fitzgerald's prior convictions and guilty plea were noted, and he was ordered to comply with probation for five years post‑release. The sentence was back‑dated to the day of the offence.

2022-12-15 · Cork

Motorist who caused 'life-altering injuries' in head-on collision has driving ban cut on appeal

Paul Coen, 47, of Templemany, Buttevant, was sentenced in May 2021 to four years' imprisonment with the last year suspended for dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm after a head‑on collision at Quartertown Upper, Mallow, where a woman was seriously injured and air‑lifted to hospital. He also received six months' imprisonment for refusing to provide a urine or blood sample to Gardaí. The judge imposed a 10‑year driving ban, describing the crash as "like a bomb exploding." Coen's counsel argued the ban was unduly punitive, citing his mental health issues and rural employment needs. At the Court of Appeal, the ban was reduced by three years to seven, while the sentence remained unchanged. The appeal decision acknowledged the serious injuries sustained by the victim and the impact on her life, but also considered Coen's personal circumstances and the need for rehabilitation. Paul Coen pleaded guilty.