Courts

Former footballer jailed over his role in assault and false imprisonment of man

Jamie Geoghegan (28) dragged victim to vehicle which brought him to caravan in Clondalkin where he was beaten and stabbed

Jamie Geoghegan pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of assault causing harm and one count of false imprisonment. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh
Jamie Geoghegan pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of assault causing harm and one count of false imprisonment. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh
Isabel Hayes
Fri Mar 15 2024 - 15:29

A 28-year-old former footballer has been jailed for 6½ years for taking part in the false imprisonment of a man who was forced into a car, hooded and then beaten and stabbed.

Jamie Geoghegan assaulted the victim, dragged him outside and forced him into a waiting vehicle containing a number of other men, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Friday.

The man was driven to a caravan in Clondalkin where he was tied up, beaten and stabbed with various implements, Garda John Griffin told prosecuting barrister Eoin Lawlor.

The victim’s ordeal ended when gardaí on patrol noticed a man known to them acting as a lookout.

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The victim was found groaning in pain on the ground with his hands tied using a phone cable. He had lacerations to his shoulder and legs, and his leg and hand were fractured. A machete, a claw hammer and knife, which had the victim’s blood on them, were found at the scene.

Geoghegan, of Shancastle Drive, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm to the victim at an address in Ongar and one count of false imprisonment at Fonthill Cottages, Clondalkin on July 21st last. The maximum sentence for false imprisonment is life in prison, the court heard.

The assault causing harm charge related to Geoghegan punching the victim before pushing him into the car, the court heard. His DNA was not on any of the weapons found in the caravan, defence counsel said.

Geoghegan has 75 previous convictions, including for theft, burglary, firearm and drug offences. The victim did not give a victim impact statement, with the court hearing he wished to remain “uncontactable”.

The court heard that after Geoghegan dragged the victim out of where he had been staying, he punched him in the head before pushing him into a waiting vehicle. The victim was placed between two men who punched him and a hood was put over his head.

The man thought he was going to die and decided to swallow some cocaine he had on his person in an attempt to “numb himself” from what was going to happen, Mr Lawlor said. His next memory was of waking up in hospital.

Garda Griffin said he was on patrol in Clondalkin with a colleague when they noticed a man known to them acting suspiciously. They found Geoghegan and another man, who was hooded, standing outside the caravan. They both fled the scene.

Garda Griffin estimated that the false imprisonment lasted for between 30 and 45 minutes.

Gardaí traced Geoghegan and the other man to an address in Clondalkin, but they were prevented from gaining access to the home by a crowd that had gathered outside, the court heard. By the time they got into the house, the two men had escaped.

Geoghegan was eventually arrested two months later and has been in custody since then.

Michael Bowman SC, defending, said Geoghegan was a promising footballer in his youth and represented Ireland at under-age level and at the Homeless World Cup. He outlined a number of family difficulties Geoghegan had in his youth.

He is married with four children and several family members were in court to support him, counsel said.

Judge Martin Nolan said it was clear Geoghegan and others were involved in some sort of dispute with the victim.

“Thankfully for everybody, gardaí intruded before matters got worse,” he said, adding it was a “very serious incident”.

The judge set a headline sentence of 10 years, which he reduced to 6½ years, taking mitigation into account. He backdated the sentence to last September, when Geoghegan went into custody.