South African who failed to leave country after Cork court ruling will remain in jail

THE Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of a con artist, who had a suspended sentence re-activated for not leaving the country after being released from jail.

South African native Brandon Abrahams, 28, had pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Court to setting up a scam selling fraudulently-acquired high-end mobile phones on the internet.

Judge Gerard O’Brien sentenced him to five years in prison in June 2018, but suspended the last four years of his sentence on one condition — that he would leave Ireland within three months of his release from prison.

However, Abrahams, with a former address at Nursery View, Glasheen Rd, Cork, did not comply with the condition, and so Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin sent him back to prison in November to serve the four remaining years.

The father of two appealed this decision to the Court of Appeal today.

His barrister, Paula McCarthy BL, submitted that the judge had failed to afford sufficient weight to the mitigating factors in the case; including the fact that his partner had been pregnant when he was released from jail.

Jane Hyland BL opposed the application on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

She said that there had been only one condition with which to comply, and he had failed to do so.

The Court of Appeal agreed.

Justice Aileen Donnelly, sitting with court president Justice George Birmingham and Justice Patrick McCarthy, said that the activating court had been given little choice.

They dismissed Abrahams’ appeal.