Liam McCann's sentence appeal dismissed over false imprisonment

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

Liam McCann's appeal against sentences for false imprisonment, criminal damage and unlawful use of a mechanically propelled vehicle was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 19 July 2016. Mr. Justice Mahon delivered the judgment.

He had pleaded guilty to the three charges. The proceedings were reported on 19 July 2016.

At Wexford Circuit Criminal Court on 13 November 2015, he received concurrent sentences of 18 months for criminal damage, 18 months for unlawful use of a mechanically propelled vehicle and three years, with the final six months suspended, for false imprisonment.

On 11 August 2014, McCann forcibly entered a family home in County Wexford and confronted a woman and her three children. He shut the two older children in a kitchen cupboard. Highly agitated and shouting that people were after him, he held one knife to his throat and waved another. He later took the woman's car and crashed it into a wall at the house.

His appeal argued that insufficient weight had been given to mitigation and rehabilitation. The court found that his lack of intent to harm the woman and children had been taken into account. It considered the sentence measured and appropriate, reflecting both the lasting impact on the family and strong mitigating factors. It also found that suspending the final six months sufficiently encouraged rehabilitation, and identified no error of principle in the sentencing approach.