49-year-old convicted sex offender accused of breaching Louth court order is denied bail

A 49-year-old man accused of breaching the conditions of a Sex Offender Order has been denied bail.

The defendant, who cannot be named after Judge John Brennan granted a defence application to impose reporting restrictions, was remanded in custody to Dundalk Court on Wednesday.

He appeared in custody before Drogheda Court on Monday.

During a contested bail application, a detective garda gave evidence of arresting the man for breaching the order.

He was later charged and cautioned after which he replied, ‘I didn’t do nothing. This is a lie.’

The garda objected to bail under Section 2 and O’Callaghan Rules.

He said it will be alleged that on Saturday last, 25 February, at an address in north Co. Dublin, the accused intimidated an elderly lady into doing work she did not want, in breach of the order.

Gardaí saw him actively power washing the drive of her home. He had with him hoses, fuel and a generator.

It was feared that he was ‘cold calling’ to gather intelligence on elderly people and how vulnerable they might be. There was concern for the safety of the public at large, Judge Brennan heard.

The garda said that the order was made in Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court last December and he, as his case manager, had explained it to the defendant in detail and he said he understood the conditions.

He said he was not happy about it as what would he do for work.

He had been released from custody in September 2022 after serving a sentence.

Under cross-examination, the garda said it was not correct that the order only applied to Co. Louth. It was countrywide.

This had been slowly explained to the man in great detail.

Giving evidence, the accused said it was his understanding that the order only related to Co. Louth. He knew now that it didn’t.

He was willing to abide by any conditions.

Judge Brennan said that a restrictive order had been made. It didn’t make sense that it should only be confined to Co. Louth.

He said he would ‘reluctantly’ have to refuse bail on the Section 2 grounds.

The man was remanded in custody to Dundalk Court on Wednesday via video link for DPP directions.