By Sonya McLean
A man who tried to steal from a man with an acquired brain injury after implying the victim was a paedophile and threatening to release naked photographs of him has been jailed for 27 months.
Dean Kelly (37) of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to attempted theft of the victim in Dublin on September 16, 2022.
The investigating garda told Conor McKenna BL, prosecuting, that Kelly called to the victim’s home and taunted him.
He called the man “a kiddie fiddler” and said he had naked photos of him which he threatened to sell if the man didn’t get him cash.
Kelly then accompanied the victim to a nearby ATM where he told him to withdraw €40, but while the man was withdrawing the cash Kelly pushed him aside and tried to withdraw a further €700.
The garda confirmed that Kelly was not successful in this attempt and the man managed to get his card back from him.
He then alerted the gardaí to the attempted theft.
He told gardaí that he knew Kelly and Kelly had previously taken money from him.
The garda confirmed that the victim had an acquired brain injury arising out of a car accident and Kelly was aware of this injury.
The garda said Kelly had numerous previous convictions including 65 for theft and fraud.
He has further convictions for robbery, handling stolen property and is currently serving a sentence for theft.
Kelly is due for release this November.
The garda agreed with Carol Doherty BL, defending, that there had been periods of time during which Kelly had not come to garda attention.
He had been taken care off by his grandparents and an uncle after his own parents were estranged from him.
He acknowledged that an apology Kelly wished to express towards the victim was most likely genuine and confirmed that he is always pleasant to deal with.
Ms Doherty said her client’s uncle died in his arms in December 2021 and both his grandparents died before that.
He found himself being forced out of the family council home in December 2021 and became homeless as a result.
Counsel said Kelly later began sleeping in a tent and began to abuse drugs again.
She said he is on methadone now and doing well in prison.
He is an “avid lover of the guitar” and takes part in arts and craft classes which he is “discovering an interest in”.
Ms Doherty said Kelly “pivoted into despair” following the death of three very important people in his life.
He is hoping to get work as a labourer on his ultimate release from prison at a particular site where a developer has been engaged into a contract of work for five years.
Judge Martin Nolan said the most aggravating feature of the case was that Kelly took advantage of a person he knew was vulnerable.
“He needed money and decided to bother the injured party to get this money,” Judge Nolan said before he noted that the victim was “very worried and disturbed by his (Kelly’s) behaviour”.
Judge Nolan acknowledged that while Kelly has a long history of offending, he is doing very well in prison and taking advantage of the services offered there.
“I hope he can change his life. It would be good for him and good for everyone else,” Judge Nolan commented, before he jailed Kelly for 27 months.
He said a headline sentence of four years would be appropriate in the case.