Courts / Dublin / Report

Pair jailed for roles in violent robbery of sex worker

Date
2022-11-08

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Two men have been sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for their roles in a violent robbery at a hotel in Swords in November 2019. Ioan Galben, aged 40, and Samuel Pop, aged 28, both pleaded guilty to robbery and false imprisonment. The court heard that over €6,000 was taken from a sex worker, along with personal items including phones and jewellery. A third man, now deceased, entered the room during the incident and threatened the victim with a blade. Gardaí identified the suspects through CCTV footage relating to a similar incident in Roscommon in October 2019. Judge Martin Nolan noted a pattern of similar crimes and described the victim as left terrified by the incident. He imposed a sentence of five and a half years on Galben and three years on Pop, finding both men equally culpable despite their different roles.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Pair jailed for roles in violent robbery of sex worker. Charges or matters: robbery and false imprisonment at the Travel Lodge, Swords on November 11, 2019. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

November 11, 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
October 28, 2019 Incident
2022-11-08 Publication

Case subjects

Ioan Galben

Defendant

Charges: robbery and false imprisonment at the Travel Lodge, Swords on November 11, 2019 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Taking the mitigating factors into account, he imposed a five and a half year prison sentence on Galben and handed a three-year sentence to Pop.

Samuel Pop

Defendant

Charges: robbery and false imprisonment at the Travel Lodge, Swords on November 11, 2019 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Taking the mitigating factors into account, he imposed a five and a half year prison sentence on Galben and handed a three-year sentence to Pop.