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Serial burglar who ransacked cocooning pensioner's home has jail term increased
Summary
Anthony Horgan, 46, was originally jailed for six years in April 2021 after pleading guilty to one aggravated burglary and five burglaries, including a 4 am raid on an 83‑year‑old pensioner's home during the first Covid lockdown. His accomplice, Christopher Jones, received a four‑year term, later increased by one year after the Director of Public Prosecutions argued the original custodial term was too lenient. The DPP appealed Horgan's sentence, claiming Judge Sean O'Donnabhain had set an unduly low headline term of seven years, arguing it should have been between nine and fourteen years. In the Court of Appeal, the DPP sought a similar increase. The appellate judges agreed, quashing the original term and re‑sentencing Horgan to eight years' imprisonment, with one year suspended. The decision was made by Mr Justice John Edwards, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Serial burglar who ransacked cocooning pensioner's home has jail term increased. Charges or matters: one count of aggravated burglary and five counts of burglary. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- April 2021 Incident
- April 16 Incident
- 2022-03-09 Publication
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: one count of aggravated burglary and five counts of burglary (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Anthony Horgan (46), of no fixed abode, was jailed for six years by Judge Sean O'Donnabhain at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in April 2021 after he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated burglary and five counts of burglary. Quashing Horgan's original term, Mr Justice Edwards re-sentenced the respondent to eight years' imprisonment, with one year suspended.
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