Cork man jailed for five years for stealing students' debs money

An events organiser who took €204,000 in deposits from sixth year students for their debs and graduation balls blew it all on gambling and left the young people without their end of year celebration nights, and today he was jailed for five years.

Pat Browne, (aged 32), from Inchirahilly, Crookstown, Co Cork, was jailed by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on 37 sample counts on a 77-charge indictment.

“This is a phenomenally serious series of events. Of the money he took, effectively €200,000 has gone missing. He says it is gone on a gambling addiction. These young people who gave him the money are at a loss of the money and at a loss of whatever occasion they booked.

“It would have been a long, difficult, drawn out case to prove, there would have been a huge number of witnesses for the prosecution.

“I have to look here at a scheme manufactured by the accused who involved himself in a planned and determined extraction of money from young people. It was particularly mean and offensive type of behaviour getting money off them at a vulnerable time of their lives. These young people are led to believe these are huge occasions in their lives.

“This man gets into their lives, gets money off them and they are left with no occasion. I acknowledge he co-operated fully, he brought disgrace to his family,” Judge Ó Donnabháin said.

Detective Garda Michael Horgan who investigated the case said the accused had been organising such events for a few years without any problem but that between May 2006 and June 2007 he got money from sixth year class representatives of 26 schools for deposits and reservations for hotels and bands to a total of €204,917.

Mr Tom Creed, defence senior counsel, asked the judge to take into consideration the extensive publicity in the case which had resulted in the vilification of the accused.