The Court of Appeal has dismissed William Butler’s appeal against the severity of a sentence imposed for five theft counts, leaving in place three years’ imprisonment with the final 12 months suspended.
The sentence was imposed in the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin on 13 December 2018. Butler had faced an indictment containing 33 counts; the five counts to which he pleaded guilty were described as representative of the indictment. The appeal concerned the sentence, not the convictions.
The Court of Appeal judgment said Butler was a friend of the injured party, a widow, and had sometimes stayed at her home when he faced accommodation difficulties. While a guest, he obtained her bank card and PIN and withdrew a total of €19,380 over three months. The court was told that some, perhaps a good deal, of the money was gambled.
The woman noticed that her account held less than expected and that withdrawals had been made when she had not been taking money out. Butler admitted wrongdoing to her and later made admissions to Gardaí. He said he would make restitution, but none was made. The appeal judgment noted that the case had progressed slowly because of a degree of prosecutorial delay.
The sentencing judge set a four-year headline sentence, reduced it to three years to account for mitigation, and suspended the final 12 months after considering a probation report. Butler’s counsel did not challenge the four-year starting point. The appeal focused on the suspended portion, with counsel arguing that half the sentence should have been suspended.
The Court of Appeal said the victim was vulnerable and that the money taken came from a pension fund provided by her late husband; almost half of that pension had been taken. It also distinguished other dishonesty cases cited in submissions, where efforts had been made to repay some or all of the money. The court said this case required a custodial sentence and was unable to find the sentence unduly severe. It dismissed the appeal, finding no error had been identified.