Masked house intruder spoke to five-year-old girl in kitchen

Graham O’Mahony, 36, of no fixed address said to the householder, “Shut your mouth you f***ing dope, watch your house.”

 A five-year-old girl who was alone in the family kitchen saw a man wearing a mask and plastic gloves walk in and start talking to her and when the child’s mother ran downstairs the intruder verbally abused her.

Graham O’Mahony, 36, of no fixed address said to the householder, “Shut your mouth you f***ing dope, watch your house.” Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin sentenced him at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, as a result of which he is now commencing 18 months in custody.

The judge imposed a 12-month sentence for the charge of trespassing in a manner likely to cause fear but that sentence is effectively served as O’Mahony has spent that amount of time remanded in custody on the charge.

However, O’Mahony was previously sentenced to four years for another burglary and the last 18 months of the sentence was suspended.

The latest burglary at the house of the woman and her young daughter triggered an application to activate that 18-month suspended term. Judge Ó Donnabháin removed the suspension of the 18 months.

Sergeant Chris Cahill outlined the background to the incident where the householder was upstairs and heard her daughter downstairs in conversation with a man whose voice she did not recognise.

She ran down and saw Graham O’Mahony, whom she recognised, even though he was wearing a face mask.

Guilty plea

O’Mahony pleaded guilty to a charge of entering a house on March 25 at Edward Walsh Road, Togher, Cork, as a trespasser and attempting to steal by searching the owner’s purse on the kitchen table.

Det Garda Rory O’Connell outlined the allegations in the case when O’Mahony sought – and was refused bail at Cork District Court - saying that an intruder arrived in the house at 8.30 p.m. that evening.

“It is alleged he entered through an unlocked front door and entered the kitchen and picked up a purse and went through the contents when a five-year-old girl was on her own in the kitchen.

“It is alleged the child’s mother came down the stairs and that he verbally abused the mother and then left the house.” 

During the bail application O’Mahony said of the five-year-old girl being in the kitchen at the time of the burglary, “That is nothing got to do with me whatsoever.”

 Defence barrister, Paula McCarthy, stressed that no violence was used by the defendant and the entire incident lasted no more than three minutes and that in effect he left when asked to leave. O’Mahony was asked to leave by a number of men who arrived on the scene, Sgt. Chris Cahill said.