Man with disabilities an ‘easy target’ in Limerick, court told

A man with cerebral palsy and other disabilities was attacked and robbed by a woman because she saw him as an easy target, a court heard.

Belinda O’Sullivan, aged 24, of McGarry House, Alphonsus St, Limerick, pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Court to robbing the man on May 25, 2014, as he sat in his wheelchair.

Det Garda Niall Fitzgerald said the victim was at Lord Edward St when two women, one the accused, approached him. One asked if he wanted his shoe lace tied. O’Sullivan, who has 101 previous convictions, then slapped him on the face and took his wallet, which contained €80.

The man told gardaí he felt his attacker felt he was an easy target because of his disability. Judge Tom O’ Donnell adjourned sentence to May 5 and remanded O’Sullivan on bail.