A man who admitted making over 4,000 nuisance phone calls, mostly to women and some threatening rape and sexual assault, has been given a six-year suspended sentence. Eamon Curley (28) of Carratigue, Ballina, pleaded guilty to sample charges of nuisance calls, harassment and grossly offensive telephone messages at Castlebar Circuit Court sitting in Westport yesterday.
Garda Joseph McKenna of Belmullet said Curley had made the phone calls from September 1998 to January 1999, to women all over the State. He would select and ring one number, then add one to the last figure of that number, and ring it. At one sitting he rang 287 numbers. He threatened and made lewd sexual suggestions to the women who answered. He threatened many of them that if they hung up on him, he would break down their front door and come in and rape them as he pretended he was near their homes.
Garda McKenna said that he had taken statements from 30 of Curley's victims, all living in western areas.
Some of the victims were elderly and one woman had buried her husband two days before Curley phoned. The effect of the phone calls had been traumatic, to the extent that one elderly woman was putting her house up for sale when she was told Curley had been caught.
He subsequently made a statement of admission. He said he was living on a farm with his father and aunt and was unemployed. There were two phones in the house and He often made more than 100 phonecalls, he said, by going through the local 094/097 phone directory and just adding digits on to numbers.
Mayo Chief Psychiatrist Mr John O'Donnell said Curley's adoptive father was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and Curley was looking after him and his elderly sister and the farm. If he was jailed they would have to go into a home.
Judge Harvey Kenny directed Curley to go under the care of the Probation Services and Dr Connolly.