Free legal aid refused to one defendant
FOLLOWING a garda sting operation where two female plain clothes detectives were located in the areas of Barrington Street, Mallow Street, Catherine Street and Pery Square, a total of 21 men have been convicted of soliciting a person for the purposes of prostitution at Limerick District Court. Twenty-seven cases were before the courts where details were heard of men making approaches to the two female gardai dressed in plain clothes,
and offering to pay them to perform a sexual act.
Twenty-one men, ranging from their late twenties to one man in his late 60s, were convicted after they pleaded guilty to the charges contrary to section 7 of the Criminal Law Act 1993.
Over the course of the 27 cases, presenting sergeant, Michelle Leahy, told the court that the Garda Operation, known as Freewheel, was conducted on November 19 and 30 last, where gardai made arrests after men, acting as clients seeking sex, sought to pay the two garda members for the purposes of prostitution. The majority of the cases, however, were arising out of another operation conducted this month when arrests were made on December 2, 3 and 4 last.
Judge Eamon O’Brien heard in court that most of the men were “embarrassed” and “sorry” for the “mistake” made in approaching and attempting to solicit the detectives for the purposes of sex.
The identities of the “decoy gardai” were withheld from the court proceedings as part of the ongoing battle against illegal prostitution in the city centre.
Opting to deal with the matter by way of imposing that the maximum fine of €470, determined by the Oireachtas, would be given instead to Doras Luimini and not the State, Judge Eamon O’Brien convicted 21 men where a total of €9,870 must be paid to the support group for migrants by March 13 next.
Six matters were adjourned for the defence to be furnished with a brief outline of the evidence while a bench warrant was issued for a fifth accused man who did not turn up to court to answer the allegations.
One man told the court that he was in receipt of social welfare and did not have the means to pay for representation at court and sought the facilities of the legal aid system, but was told that, “if he could afford to pay for ladies of the night, he could afford to pay for a solicitor…and that is the second oldest profession in the world”.
The men had addresses in Limerick city and county as well as North Cork and Tipperary.
His application was refused, and he was ordered to seek the services of a solicitor before March 13 next.
Gardai say that they will be increasing their crackdown on illegal prostitution rings attempting to operate in the city, while also targeting those that seek the services of prostitutes over the coming weeks.
