By Claire Henry
A man who robbed two escorts at knifepoint in two separate incidents will be sentenced early next year.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Liam McGrane (59) of Earlfort Road, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery at separate Dublin hotels on December 21, 2018 and August 4, 2019.
McGrane has previous convictions, which include road traffic offences and two offences of a similar nature, the court heard today.
Detective Garda Patrick Cullen told Simon Matthews, BL, prosecuting, that gardai were called to a Dublin hotel after a female escort called to say she had been robbed of a sum of cash.
The woman told gardai that she had a profile on Escorts.ie and a man made a booking to meet her at the hotel.
When he arrived at the door, he produced a knife.
The man, who was later identified as McGrane, went into the hotel room and demanded cash from the woman while pointing the knife at her.
The court heard that he took €1500 from the woman and asked if she had a friend in the room next door who might also have cash.
As the woman walked towards the door of the room next door, she screamed, and McGrane ran away down the hall. Gardai obtained CCTV footage from the hotel.
Det Gda Cullen said that nearly one year later, gardai received a call from another escort at a hotel in Saggart.
She told gardai that she also had a profile on Escorts.ie and arranged to meet a man in a hotel room.
When the man, who was later identified as McGrane, entered the room, he produced a Stanley knife and demanded cash from the woman.
He took €1800 from the woman and left.
CCTV footage showed a man leaving the hotel in a blue car. Gardai traced the car registration plate to McGrane.
The following day, gardai arrived at McGrane’s address, where the same car was parked outside.
When McGrane answered the door, he was cautioned and made admissions to the robbery of the woman the day before.
He also handed over the €1800 that he had robbed from the woman.
He asked gardai not to search his house as his family was sleeping.
He was taken into custody.
When gardai who had been involved in the hotel robbery the previous year became aware that McGrane was in custody, he was questioned regarding this robbery and made admissions.
He told gardai that he had gotten himself “into a mess”.
Det Gda Cullen agreed with Nicola Cox, BL, defending, that these were not sophisticated crimes and that, on one occasion, McGrane drove to the hotel in his own car.
He further agreed that McGrane was co-operative with gardai and made admissions.
The garda agreed that this was a frightening experience for the two women, and the guilty pleas were beneficial.
Ms Cox said that her client has not come to any adverse attention since these offences, and he acted in a “self-destructive” manner.
Counsel said her client was “truly sorry” for his offending and offered his apologies to both of the injured parties.
Ms Cox handed a written letter from her client into the court and asked the judge to be as lenient as possible when sentencing.
Ms Justice Sinead Ni Chulachain said these are “very serious matters”. “I can’t imagine how terrifying this must have been for the injured parties,” she said.
The judge noted that McGrane has undertaken counselling.
She noted he says that he is no longer a danger, but that she has no evidence of that.
“These are knife crimes and are very serious,” she said.
She ordered a probation report and adjourned the case for finalisation in January next year.