A man described yesterday how his family was "disgusted and traumatised" after his next-door neighbour stole his daughter's underwear from the family clothes-line.
Mr Joe Reeves, Glenanaar Avenue, Woodview Park in Limerick made his comments outside Limerick District Court after Eamonn McHale (38) was convicted of stealing the garments on a number of different dates in early October 2002. The court heard that McHale had taken "items of ladies underwear" from his next-door neighbour's clothes-line and had been found on a number of occasions climbing over a back wall returning the underwear.
McHale, a father of two children, who pleaded guilty, was given a six month suspended sentence and ordered to pay €3,000 to a nominated charity.
Speaking after the hearing, Mr Reeves (64) said he was disappointed that the "deviant sexual nature of the offences" was not fully disclosed in court. He installed a video camera in his house for four nights in a row in a bid to catch the person responsible for taking the underwear.
McHale's solicitor said his client had been suicidal since the events and now only visits his children every second weekend.