Court archive

Court reports mentioning Termonbarry, Roscommon

2023-03-21 · Dublin

Criminal caught for burglary 13 years ago after change in DNA sharing procedures

A man with a Roscommon address has been sentenced following a burglary in Dublin over a decade ago. Tomasz Bebenek, aged 34, of Harbour Road, Tarmonbarry, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to trespass and theft at a residence in Rathgar on 15 March 2010. He took two laptops, a camera, a camcorder and a music device valued at €1,080, none of which were recovered. Blood evidence left at the scene remained unmatched until 2019, when changes to European DNA sharing procedures enabled An Garda Síochána to identify Bebenek through a UK database match. Judge Martin Nolan imposed an 18-month sentence, backdated to September 2022. The court heard Bebenek has 44 previous convictions and is currently in custody pending a European Arrest Warrant relating to matters in Poland.

2022-06-23 · Wexford

Court upholds sentence of 'predator' jailed for raping schoolgirl 20 times

John Giltrap, 61, of Termonbarry, Bunclody, was found guilty of 20 counts of raping Caroline Kavanagh, aged 10 to 15, at various sites in Bunclody between December 1978 and March 1982. He had pleaded not guilty to 22 counts. In December 2020, Mr Justice Michael McGrath sentenced him to 11 years' imprisonment on each count. Giltrap appealed for a reduction, arguing that he was 18 to 23 at the time of the offences, that his relationship had dissolved, that he was married with children, and that his health was poor. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal in January. Today, Mr Justice John Edwards upheld the 11‑year sentence, stating there was no error in principle and that the original judge had already applied generous mitigation. The appeal was dismissed.

2022-01-27 · Wexford

Victim relieved as rapist who attacked her when she was schoolgirl loses appeal

In January 2022, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of John Giltrap, 61, who had been convicted of 20 counts of rape against Caroline Kavanagh, a girl aged between 10 and 15, during 1978‑1982 in Bunclody. Giltrap had originally pleaded not guilty to 22 counts but was found guilty on 20 by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in Kilkenny in December 2020 and sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment on each count, with the terms running concurrently. He argued the verdict was "perverse" and "contrary to the weight of evidence." The appellate judges, led by Mr Justice John Edwards, rejected the appeal, stating there was no evidence of jury speculation. Ms Kavanagh, present in the gallery, expressed relief at the decision, noting that Giltrap's lawyers were considering a further appeal of the sentence length.

2021-12-17 · Wexford

Victim in court to see rapist weep and ask for conviction to be quashed

In the Court of Appeal on 17 December 2021, Caroline Kavanagh, aged 52, sat in the rear of the court to witness her former attacker, John Giltrap, 61, weeping as he pleaded for his conviction to be quashed. Giltrap had been found guilty on 20 of 22 counts of raping Kavanagh, aged between 10 and 15 at the time, between December 1978 and March 1982, and was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment on each count with the terms running concurrently. He appealed on the grounds that the jury's verdict was "perverse" and "contrary to the weight of evidence". Kavanagh, who had waived her right to anonymity, testified that the rapes occurred "nearly everyday and sometimes twice a day" in a house and later in a caravan that was moved to a public area known as "the Green". John Giltrap pleaded not guilty.