Kevin Ginty’s burglary sentence cut from five years to two

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Kevin Ginty had his burglary sentence reduced from five years to two years by the Court of Appeal. The proceedings were reported on 13 December 2014.

Ginty had pleaded guilty to burglary at a former partner’s home. The offence occurred on 4 April 2010. Mr Justice Paul Carney sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court on 22 July 2013.

According to the appeal court’s account, Ginty entered through a sitting-room window after being unable to gain entry at the door. He dragged the woman back into the house as she was making her way to a neighbour’s home, then banged her head against the bottom step while dragging her upstairs.

The court regarded this as a serious offence involving violation of a dwelling and violence against a woman in her own home. It rejected any suggestion that violence in a domestic or quasi-domestic context was less serious.

Mr Justice George Birmingham, sitting with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, said insufficient regard had been paid to Ginty’s lack of previous convictions. The court considered the sentence out of line with those typically imposed for offences of this nature.

The court imposed two years’ imprisonment, backdated to his conviction on 15 July 2013. The report also said another charge had ultimately not proceeded, accounting for the case’s unusual route to the Central Criminal Court.