'I felt I was entrapped - I meant no harm'

A MAN who was charged as a result of Operation Freewheel told the Limerick Leader in a letter:

A MAN who was charged as a result of Operation Freewheel told the Limerick Leaderin a letter:

“I had just dropped someone at Catherine Street. In order to avoid turning, I came down an alleyway where I came to a cross and stopped.

“Two girls approached the window of my car and I spoke to them. I didn’t realise what was going on, but I believed at that stage they were prostitutes. It was never my intention to actually seek anything from these women for money and anything that was said was meant as a bit of a laugh.

“Because I spoke to them, a garda knocked on my window and I was arrested and taken to the station. I was advised to plead guilty by a garda. He said the reason to plead guilty was that it would be easier than explaining to my wife that I was talking to prostitutes. I was assured the incident would not be publicised.

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“I felt I was entrapped – I meant no harm. I would never betray my wife, who is a kind, beautiful woman. I love my wife and family and now I’m trying to save that. I would never betray her, and have no reason to. This has destroyed me and my family – I haven’t shown my face in public since because of the shame this has brought on me and my family. . .

“It should be my business and nobody else’s, and I feel I was used as an example to clean up the streets at the expense of my marriage and reputation.

“I was told to say nothing to my wife, that if I pleaded guilty this would go away. I’m in an awful mess with such awful thoughts in my head. I sit in my home crying with the shame the gardaí and the courts have brought on me.”

Another man said he engaged the women in conversation, but “within 10 seconds gardaí had swarmed around me. It all happened so fast; it was like boom, boom.

“This is the 100 per cent gospel truth. I wouldn’t be speaking out about this otherwise. I acted the twat when I pulled up to them, but I was only joking. I never asked how much, and where can you go.

“I might have asked a dirty question, but that was it. I had no money, nothing. I was arrested there and then. What my name was in the papers for is wrong. I just can’t believe it. I am 100 per cent guilty for pulling in to them, but I was not trying to get a prostitute. I was baffled by it. I hadn’t one euro left on me. I know pulling up to them was wrong. Some of my friends are laughing about this and having a joke, but there is a serious side to this.”