The staff at the Galway Rape Crisis Centre were forced to lodge a complaint with gardai after a Connemara man made 17 nuisance calls and threatened to break every window and then burn the centre down, the Galway District Court heard last week.
Padraig Conroy (25 ) with an address at Lehenagh, Cashel, Galway, was summoned to appear before Judge Mary Fahy last Monday where he pleaded guilty to persistently making nuisance calls on dates between October 25, 2007, and January 4, 2008, to Galway Rape Crisis Centre at 7 Claddagh Quay, contrary to Section 13(1 ) of the Post Office Act 1951.
Inspector Ernie White told the court that by January 4 the Galway Rape Crisis Centre had received a total of 17 nuisance calls from the defendant who repeatedly wanted to talk to a particular woman.
When he was told that she was not there the defendant threatened to break all the windows in the place and burn it down. A complaint was made to gardai and when Conroy was arrested he admitted making the calls. The inspector added that Conroy had no previous convictions.
Defence solicitor Valerie Corcoran, who handed a psychiatrist’s report into court, said that these “random calls” were made all around the same period and her client is now receiving counselling.
Judge Mary Fahy said that she had no problem adjourning the case to allow time for an up to date psychiatrist’s report but only on condition that he have “no further contact with the Galway Rape Crisis Centre or make any type of hoax calls”.
The defendant was then remanded on continuing bail to February 3, 2009.
