A Cork court has today jailed a man for organising prostitution and brothel keeping in the city.
Tony Linnane (53) Scartbarry, Watergrasshill, Co Cork, received a two-year prison sentence after being found guilty of 19 counts of organising prostitution and brothel keeping.
The final nine months of the sentence were suspended on the condition Linnane did not associate with the business and accountancy services of his business adviser.
Linnane's partner, Caroline O'Leary (39), also of Scartbarry, Watergrasshill, Co Cork, was also convicted of seven counts of acting or assisting in the management of brothels in Cork. She was given a two-year sentence, of which she had already served three weeks, and Judge Sean O Donnabhain suspended the balance of the sentence.
The court heard O'Leary had two young children and no previous convictions. The judge said that but for those mitigating factors, she would be serving time in prison.
A third accused, Julieanne Gibson (41) from Springvale, Old Youghal Road, Cork, pleaded guilty to five counts of acting or assisting in the management of brothels in Cork. The court heard Gibson was a mother of seven, including a seven-month-old baby, and the judge suspended her 18-month jail sentence in its entirety.
During the trial last month, O'Leary's counsel, Tom Creed told the jury that Linnane had made "significant payments" to CAB after they pursued him over his involvement in prostitution and brothels in Cork.
Linnane took to the witness box during O'Leary's trial and told the jury that he didn't speak to her about the brothels in Cork while he also said she had no involvement in the running of 11 legally operated adult sex stores that he owned around the country.