A man who claimed he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing the shooting of publican Charlie Chawke was convicted yesterday of running a brothel at a hotel in Tullamore, Co Offaly.
Oliver McDonald (49), Lower Drumcondra Road, Dublin, pleaded guilty to four counts of organising prostitution and one count of living off the earnings of prostitution at Tullamore District Court.
He was sentenced to eight months in prison.
The offences, which occurred on dates in January and February of 2007 at the Tullamore Court Hotel, were uncovered following a Garda investigation.
"In January 2007 I received information there was a brothel being run in a premises on O'Moore Street," Garda Michael Lowery told the court.
After observing McDonald escorting a woman to room 212 of the hotel at 1.30pm on February 3rd, gardaí continued surveillance until midnight, by which time six men had visited the room.
When three gardaí executed a search warrant, Garda Lowery said they found "a naked woman lying on the bed and there was a naked man beside her".
When questioned, the 25-year-old Czechoslovakian woman admitted that she was working as a prostitute. A number of condoms and €520 in cash was also discovered in the room.
In his statement, McDonald said he had met a woman called Ina while on holiday in Prague. She provided him with a number for her friend in Ashbourne who wanted to work as an escort.
After contacting the woman, McDonald had booked the hotel room and arranged clients. "I knew all my clients and I trusted them," he told gardaí.
Defence counsel Geraldine Fitzpatrick said her client had "suffered a significant breakdown" on witnessing the shooting of Mr Chawke.
After giving interviews to newspapers, McDonald believed his life was in danger and returned to his native Co Offaly, Ms Fitzpatrick said.
Since the shooting her client had spent time in a psychiatric institution.
The former businessman had no income at the time he came to Tullamore, she said.
She provided Judge John Neilan with a report outlining her client's condition.
Ms Fitzpatrick also said there was no element of coercion of the woman on the part of McDonald.
Judge Neilan noted the report had been compiled before the offences had been committed.
He asked Ms Fitzpatrick if the report had been intended for use in "proceedings against the State" in relation to trauma suffered.
"I cannot comment on what the motivation of the person who made the report might be," Ms Fitzpatrick said.
Passing sentence, Judge Neilan said the defendant was "engaging in conduct which he condemns in one hand and engages in on another".
The message that people who engaged in such behaviour would lose their freedom needed to be sent out, said the judge.