Two men have received prison sentences for their roles in the robbery of over €6,000 from a sex worker in a Dublin hotel.
Ioan Galben (40) and Samuel Pop (28) both pleaded guilty to robbery and false imprisonment at the Travel Lodge, Swords on November 11th, 2019.
Garda Katie Lennon told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that the victim had travelled to Ireland to work.
On the day in question, the victim received a call at about 7pm from a man, later identified as Pop, who said he wished to meet her. Arrangements were made and a man subsequently came to her room.
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The victim realised that this man, Galben, was not the man she spoke with on the phone. Galben said he was Spanish, but the victim thought the man was Romanian.
Galben and the victim had sex, during which his phone rang. He then dressed and opened the door of her room.
Pop and a third man, who has since died, entered the room.
The third man put a blade close to the victim’s face, demanded money and threatened to kill her.
The victim gave him €200 from her purse, but he also tried to take her gold bracelet.
The third man hit the victim three times in the face. He also tied her wrists and turned the victim to face the wall in the corner of a room.
The court heard that Pop and Galben looked through the victim’s suitcase and found €6,000, which represented her earnings over the previous five weeks. They also took other items including two phones, cigarettes and lipsticks.
As the men left, the third man damaged the phone in the hotel room. The victim managed to free herself and ran to reception to raise the alarm.
Gardai launched an investigation, and identified a similar incident in Roscommon on October 28th, 2019 during which a sex worker was robbed of money.
The three suspects were identified by gardai using CCTV from the Roscommon incident. Pop and Galben were later arrested and interviewed by gardai.
Pop identified himself and the others on CCTV. He told gardai his role was as a translator and he did not take part in the assault of the victim.
Pop said he had not wanted to go, but gardai noted that he took part in other similar incidents.
Galben told gardai that he worked with Pop. He did not identify himself on CCTV but agreed with a detailed description of his piercings which had been provided to gardai by the victim.
Gardai were told that the money stolen from the victim was taken by others, though some money was recovered from Pop’s home.
Galben, of Warrenstown Park, Blanchardstown Heath, Blanchardstown, has 11 previous convictions, including one for robbery.
Pop with an address at Charnwood Court, Clonsilla, Dublin, has four previous convictions including one for false imprisonment.
Both men are currently in custody on counts relating to the Roscommon incident.
A victim impact statement was handed into court on behalf of the victim and read by Kate Egan BL, prosecuting.
The woman said she was left in fear following the incident and was physically and psychologically assaulted. The theft also left her without money to cover her living expenses.
Gda Lennon agreed with defence counsel for Galben that there were no allegations that his client had used threats or violence against the victim.
His client accepted that money had been taken from the victim’s suitcase but did not agree that he took the cash.
Gda Lennon accepted defence counsel’s statement that there had been a delay interviewing Galben about the incident due to the Covid-19 pandemic and that Galben admitted he could be seen on CCTV.
His client also apologised and expressed remorse when interviewed by gardai.
Defence counsel for Galben outlined a number of mitigating factors to the court including his client’s early plea and apology to the victim. He said that Galben has two children and his mother is in poor health. he left Romania in 2002, initially moving to Spain before coming to Ireland in 2016, where he worked in construction.
Defence counsel said his client fell in with a “bad crowd” and started gambling and taking cocaine. His client contracted TB in prison, has no family support in Ireland and intends to serve his sentence in Romania.
A letter of apology was handed into court on behalf of Pop, who moved to Ireland in 2014, setting up a successful business as a tiler. His defense counsel said Pop was “caught in a web” over a 12-day period and was under pressure to remain involved.
Judge Martin Nolan said it was a “serious matter” as there was “somewhat of a pattern” involving similar crimes.
Taking the mitigating factors into account, he imposed a five and a half year prison sentence on Galben and handed a three year sentence to Pop.