A CONVICTED gang rapist has been jailed for six months for producing an article capable of inflicting serious injury, while also having faced charges of public order offences including violent disorder. 22-year-old Dean Barry, with an address at Garryglass Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, will serve six months in prison after he pleaded guilty to the offences at Limerick District Court.
Ted McCarthy, solicitor, said his client had been “from pillar to post” since his release from a previous sentence and was “unable to put down roots after his landlords became aware of his past.”
Evidence was heard that on July 9 last at Roxboro Garda Station, Barry was in an aggressive and agitated state in the front office.
He became abusive and was directed to leave. On refusing to do so, gardai said that Barry headbutted the door before lashing out at gardai. On the same date, Barry was observed by gardai running down O’Connell Street and seen striking a male in the back of the head. Gardai said in evidence that it was an unprovoked attack but that the accused was intoxicated and had the evidence of having suffered an injury to his mouth.
Upon his arrest, Barry was said to have been using threatening and abusive behaviour to gardai.
On August 10 last, gardai were on mobile patrol, and the court heard that two males were seen alighting from a car on Garryglass Avenue and made their way towards the accused man, who was carrying a baseball bat. A fracas broke out between the three men and a number of others became involved, with the defendant seen striking out with the baseball bat. With 32 previous convictions including a conviction for the gang rape of a girl at Cratloe Woods in January 2004, Barry is currently serving a sentence at Limerick Prison for breach of section 12 (a) of the Sex Offenders Act for not informing gardai of any change in his address.
A probation report had been canvassed by Judge Tom O’Donnell at an earlier sitting.
The court heard that the two other males involved in the incident at Garryglass Avenue were currently before the courts.
Mr McCarthy also said that his client was “crying out for treatment for substance abuse”. Judge O’Donnell said that the two charges before the court were very serious in nature but the DPP saw fit to leave them in the District Court.
Credit was given for the guilty plea.
He went on to say that the background to the case was “disturbing, but two wrongs don’t make a right”.
He added that he was “appalled that parties decoded to take the law into their own hands,” and that it was wrong of the Dean Barry to react. “It was a tense and emotive situation for gardai to deal with,” said the Judge adding, that the defendant was before the court with “transient movements across the country”.
The probation report, he commented, outlined the difficult circumstances surrounding the case and Barry.
A six month custodial sentence was imposed on Barry for producing an article capable of inflicting serious injury contrary to section 11 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act.
Judge O’Donnell also imposed two-six month sentences for the public order charges of obstructing a peace officer during his arrests in July and August.
All sentences are to run concurrently and backdated to November 11 last, when he began his four month sentence for breach of section 12 (a) of the Sex Offenders Act for not informing gardai of any change in his address.
