‘Predatory’ theft sentence upheld

A “predatory” crime by two young women saw them calling to the home of an 83-year-old man and stealing cash while on the pretext of looking for water for a child’s bottle.

Judge David Riordan — dealing with the appeal by one of the women against the severity of a six-month jail sentence for theft, imposed at Cork District Court — said yesterday: “It was predatory in so far as they called to the house of an elderly person and took advantage of that person’s trust and stole money from within his house.

“It is not just opportunistic theft, it is predatory.”

The judge upheld the order of the District Court. The accused, Manuela Dumitru of Bishopscourt, Bishopstown, Cork, was then taken into custody to commence her sentence.

Sergeant John Lehane said the two women called to the house in the Blackrock area of Cork and pretended they needed water for a child, back on Feb 3, 2010: “The 83-year-old man opened the door to the two females. He wasn’t fully alert, he was in a sleepy condition. The injured party’s son arrived home and saw one of the women leaving an upstairs bedroom.”

It was only after they had left, that €175 in cash was found to be missing. The elderly man’s son followed the two women and called the gardaí. They were arrested a short time later.

Dennis Healy, solicitor, said the young defendant was a mother-of-four and was not the ringleader in the offence and was under the influence of older people.