Courts / Wicklow / Report
Court sets aside "fraudulent" asset transfers between convicted sex offender and estranged wife
Summary
The High Court set aside two asset transfers from retired teacher Michael Byrne to his estranged wife Maureen Byrne, ruling them fraudulent and deliberately intended to frustrate Mr Cormac Walsh's recovery of a €200,000 damages award. The transfers involved Byrne's interest in the former family home and lands at Rosewell, Templerainey, Arklow, Co Wicklow, which were moved into Maureen Byrne's sole name in May 2012 and October 2015. Mr Walsh, who had been awarded the damages in 2015, had received no payment from Byrne. Byrne, aged in his 80s and living in Spain, had been convicted in 2014 of indecent assault and sentenced to eight years with four suspended. He denied the transfers were fraudulent, claiming they were made in good faith and for housekeeping reasons. The court found Byrne was aware of the civil action and the subsequent award, and therefore the transfers were set aside. The Byrnes were not present at the hearing.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Court sets aside "fraudulent" asset transfers between convicted sex offender and estranged wife. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted
When:
- May 2012 Incident
- October 2015 Incident
- 1975 and 1978 Incident
- 2017-11-23 Publication
Case subjects
Background Person
Finding: Convicted
Outcome: Convicted; Michael Byrne, who is aged in his 80's and living in Spain, was convicted in 2014 and jailed for eight years with four suspended after he admitted four sample counts of indecent assault on Mr Walsh when he was aged between 11 and 15 years on dates between 1975 and 1978.
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