Inside the Courts: A Week of Sentences and Verdicts
It was another busy week for the courts service in Northern Ireland with a number of men and women sentenced for various offences.
Couple who had sex in Belfast city centre church grounds sentenced
On Friday, a couple caught having sex in the 'holy' grounds of a Belfastcity centrechurch were ordered tocomplete two year probation orders. Karol Piotr Biernacik, 43, of Loopland Road in east Belfast and Adrienne Surgenor, 35, of no fixed abode, had previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of committing 'a lewd, obscene and disgusting act outraging public decency'. Belfast Crown Court heard that around 2.30 pm on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, two members of the public were attending St George's Parish Church in High Street.
Man had sexualised chat with undercover officer he thought was a teen girl
A 30-year old man who engaged in sexualised online chat with someone he believed was a teenage girl but who was an undercover police officer was sentenced on Monday. Liam Lewis, from Obel Building on Donegall Quay in Belfast, had a two-year sentence imposed which was suspended for two years. He admitted charges of attempted sexual communication with a child called 'Tammy-Lee', attempting to incite 'Tammy-Lee' to engage in sexual activity and attempting to cause the same child to look at an image of a person engaging in sexual activity.
Leading loyalist jailed after being caught with firearms
Two loyalists who admitted firearms and ammunition offences dating back to June 2022 were sentenced on Tuesday. Winston 'Winkie' Irvine, 49, and 54-year-old Robin Workman admitted a host of charges which arose when police seized a bag containing weapons and ammunition in North Belfast. Irvine, from Ballysillan Road in Belfast, was handed a 30-month sentence whilst Workman, from Shore Road home in Larne had a five-year sentence imposed.
Mum jailed for 'brutal and savage' murder of abusive partner as he slept
A mother-of-four found guilty of the 'brutal and savage' murder of her partner was told on Tuesday, that she will serve a minimum of 12 years in prison before she is eligible to apply for parole. Julie Ann McIlwaine stabbed James Joseph Crossley multiple times in the bedroom of her home at Filbert Drive in Dunmurry on the evening of March 2, 2022. The 34-year-old denied the murder charge and a trial was held in Coleraine Crown Court last October. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury unanimously convicted McIlwaine, from Hazel Close in Lagmore, of murdering her 38-year old partner.
Man jailed for Christmas Eve strangulation attack on partner
A Co Antrim man who attacked his partner in her own home on Christmas Eve was jailed on Wednesday for a total of 15 months. Ryan Evans, 33, of Doonbeg Drive in Rathcoole, Newtownabbey, was handed a 26 month sentence divided equally between custody and probation for offences of non-fatal strangulation and common assault. He received a further two months in custody as he was in breach of a suspended sentence at the time of his offending. Belfast Crown Court heard that on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2023, Evans called at the victim's home around 8.50 am in the morning, went inside and fell asleep on the sofa for a few hours. Prosecution barrister Kate McKay said the victim later asked him to leave but Evans grabbed her by the hair and slapped her several times. He pulled on her bra strap so hard it snapped and subsequently put his hands around her throat and strangled her. For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.