A 41-YEAR-old man with a history of sexual offending will be sentenced at a later date at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for harassing a 15-year-old girl on her way to school, the judge said.
Judge Katherine Delahunt deferred sentencing until next year to let the accused finish his course with the Granada Institute.
Det Sgt Peter Woods said that Michael Flinter followed the girl to her bus stop in his SUV, tried to get her attention several times and offered to drive her to school, saying: “I see you everyday, do you want a lift?” Flinter, of Whitehall Road west, Perrystown, Dublin, pleaded guilty to harassing the girl at a south city bus stop on May 28th, 2009.
He has six previous convictions including a partially suspended six-year sentence for sex assault.
Ronan Kennedy, defending, said that his client wished to apologise in court for his actions and had not intended to frighten the girl or cause her upset.
Mr Kennedy told Judge Delahunt that his client did not have “untoward” attraction to young Asian females and was at low risk of sex offending as outlined in a recent Granada Institute assessment.
Det Sgt Woods told Rose McGowan, prosecuting, that the girl noticed Flinter in his SUV as she passed a block of flats on the way to her bus stop.
The girl told gardaí that she ignored the driver when he said “hi” to her at a junction near the flats and again when he followed her to the bus stop about 300m (950ft) away.
Flinter then asked the girl where she went to school and offered her a lift.
Det Sgt Woods said the girl got on her bus and a school acquaintance told her she had seen the man getting in and out of his vehicle while they both waited at the stop.
The detective told Ms McGowan that the girl happened to spot this same SUV in the area as her father dropped her home from school.
Her father took the car registration and gardaí tracked Flinter to his home address.
Det Sgt Woods agreed with Mr Kennedy that his client confirmed he had approached the girl that day and co-operated fully with gardaí.