Courts / Meath / Report
"Prison Families" TV show participant avoids jail for robbery
Summary
Dermot Molloy, 36, of Dunshaughlin, pleaded guilty to robbery and attempted robbery on Capel Street in July 2012. He had 57 prior convictions, 15 for robbery. In Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Martin Nolan accepted his plea but, citing his apparent rehabilitation, imposed a three‑year suspended sentence rather than imprisonment. Molloy was captured on CCTV during the raids: on July 7 he entered a hair salon, shouted for money, brandished a knife, and fled after a customer resisted; the next day he and another man stole €420 from a salon using a syringe. He was arrested in November 2012 while on remand for other offences. The case was defended by Willie Hughes BL, who presented evidence from the TV3 documentary "Prison Families" and a producer, but the judge declined to consider it. The prosecution, led by Fiona McGowan BL, highlighted the CCTV evidence and the victim's account of Molloy's threat with a knife.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: "Prison Families" TV show participant avoids jail for robbery. Charges or matters: robbery and attempted robbery both on Dublin's Capel Street on July 6 and July 7, 2012. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- July 6 Hearing Or Sentence
- July 7, 2012 Hearing Or Sentence
- April 2013 Other
- July 7 Other
- November 2012 Adjournment
- 2015-02-09 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: robbery and attempted robbery both on Dublin's Capel Street on July 6 and July 7, 2012 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge Nolan said he had "no doubt" that he would have given Molloy a longer prison sentence at that time but said it would be "unjust in all the circumstances" to do that now. He noted that Molloy seems to have rehabilitated and it would be "somewhat unfair" to send him to prison before he handed down a three year suspended sentence.
Places mentioned
- Lagore Crescent
- Dunshaughlin
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Dublin's Capel Street
- Capel Street
- Cloverhill prison
Topics
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