By Eimear Dodd
A man who stole a sex worker’s phone was initially thought to be a victim of crime after he was seen being assaulted by two other men, a court has heard.
Gardai were initially contacted about the possible abduction of Lee Coleman (38), after he was seen being assaulted and placed into a car.
Coleman of Park Boulevard, Tyrellstown, Dublin 15 pleaded guilty to robbery on August 23, 2020 at an address in Tyrellstown. He was given a two year suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Garda Isabel Hand previously told John Moher BL, prosecuting, that Coleman made an appointment with an escort and arrived at the address around 4am.
After he arrived at the house, it was agreed he would stay for 30 minutes.
Coleman paid €70, which he left on a table in the kitchen.
He and the woman went to another room and had sex. After the agreed 30 minutes, she asked him to dress and leave.
Coleman became angry, but the woman managed to calm him. He got dressed, then became angry again, waving a bottle of vodka he had with him in a threatening manner.
He demanded his money back. The woman was scared and gave him back the €70. Coleman also took the woman’s phone and left the house.
He returned 10 minutes later, rang the doorbell and knocked on the door aggressively. The woman and a female friend were scared and hid in a bedroom.
Coleman got a piece of wood and smashed two windows at the front of the property. He then put the piece of the wood through the letterbox and started to kick the door, which was locked.
He continued to shout and bang on the door.
A resident of the road saw Coleman with the piece of wood and heard a lot of shouting and banging. They then saw two men arrive and beat him up.
These men have not been identified and the court heard there is a theory they may have been connected to the property.
Coleman was later put into a car. He was dropped to his partner’s address by a neighbour, the court heard.
The resident was concerned that she had witnessed an abduction and contacted gardai.
When they arrived, gardai saw damage to the property and a small pool of blood outside, which may have been Coleman’s.
He was later interviewed on a voluntary basis, but nothing of evidential value was obtained. He told gardai he had no recollection of the night.
The money and the woman’s phone were not recovered.
Coleman has 15 previous convictions at the District Court including one assault, one theft, and road traffic and public order offences.
Sentencing Coleman, Judge Orla Crowe acknowledged that a probation report found that due to Coleman’s level of engagement, the service do not feel there is a need to do any further work with him.
Judge Crowe acknowledged that it was a worrying and frightening robbery for the victims but accepted that he has not come to garda attention since and “appears to be getting his life back on track”.
She set a headline sentence of three years before she imposed a sentence of two years. Judge Crowe suspended that two year term in full on the condition that Coleman keep the peace and be of good behaviour for three years.
Judge Crowe said she was giving Coleman “one last chance” and she was suspending the sentence for that length of time “to hold over him as a penalty”.
Gda Hand agreed with Oisin Clarke BL, defending, that his client’s last offence date was in 2018, there were gaps in his offending and that he has not come to recent negative attention.
The garda also accepted that one theory is that Coleman returned to the house as he assumed his phone was taken. The witness noted this theory was looked into and that Coleman did not have his phone after the event.
The court was told that Coleman suffered severe injuries and was taken to hospital, where he was later referred to a plastic surgeon.
Mr Clarke said his client was given an “extreme beating on the night” and submitted to the court it is “safe to assume” they are connected to this property.
He said his client set up his own business, but started drinking and using cocaine.
Counsel said his client was under pressure at the time and his drug use became a serious problem, which led to his life spiralling out of control.
Mr Clarke said this was the “lowest point” of his client’s life and that he has been “clean and sober” since that date.
He said Coleman was transferred while in hospital to a psychiatric ward due to his drug use and realised on his release that he needed to change his life.