A 38-year-old man made a bizarre visit to the home of a 75-year-old man who found him sitting on a closed toilet lid telling him, “God sent me”, and on Thursday a judge sent him to the Probation Service.
Judge Mary Dorgan imposed a total jail term of five months imprisonment on Thursday, with the last month suspended and backdated to when he went into custody on April 7. It is anticipated he will be released from prison in the coming days when he will be required to abide by the directions of the Probation Service for 18 months.
38-year-old Trevor Morey, of no fixed address, was also required to attend his GP and mental health services, stay away from the injured party and his property, remain of good behaviour, and not to take any intoxicants.
Judge Dorgan thanked the 75-year-old householder for a victim impact report, which she described as very measured.
The householder said: “The whole episode was bizarre. I heard a burst of loud music and realised it was coming from inside the house. I went up the stairs and to my absolute incredulity discovered this man sitting on the closed lid of the toilet, staring at arm’s length at his phone and concentrating on what sounded like a sermon from one of the quasi-biblical stations that broadcast in the Cork area.
“I roared: ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ He was sideways on to me and made no move to a defensive posture but said in a matter of fact voice, ‘God sent me,’ and resumed his focus on his phone.
“It was weirdly disconcerting as opposed to frightening. He clearly viewed me as a mildly irritating distraction from the serious phone business. Having given me the perfunctory answer, the audience was now over.
“I went downstairs, quietened my dogs, made a cup of tea and tried to decide on my next move. After a few minutes, I went up again and asked him: ‘How would you feel if I call the guards?’ He considered me for a few seconds but didn’t seem to register the question, and then went back to the phone. He didn’t respond. I went downstairs and rang the emergency number.
“No attempt had been made to steal any items. No aggressive words or actions were perpetrated by the individual to me.
“I subsequently noticed that I had left a claw-hammer among some other tools on a windowsill at the top of the stairs, which might have been availed of by someone with violence in mind. He would have passed this and ignored it en route to the bathroom.
All in all, I was at the time and still remain convinced that he was not compos mentis on the night.”
Detective Garda Alan Johnson brought the charges against Trevor Morey of trespassing at the pensioner’s home and assaulting Garda Declan O’Dwyer, who arrived at the scene at Carrigrohane, Ballincollig, Co Cork, on April 5.