Young man accused of threatening to kill and demanding a debt payment from a 17-year-old girl

• Yesterday 17:28

A young man has been accused of threatening to kill and demanding a debt payment from a 17-year-old girl who lives next door to him.

The man (23) is facing trial on multiple charges of threatening his neighbour in an incident in Dublin last year.

The girl told a court she was “terrified” that the accused would “really hurt her” following the alleged threats.

Judge Paul Kelly granted bail despite garda objections at Dublin District Court and adjourned the case for the preparation of a book of evidence.

The accused was remanded in custody for a week, with consent to bail.

He is charged with five counts of making unwarranted demands for the payment of a debt, two of threats to cause criminal damage and one of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to the girl in January 2022.

Garda Ciaran Lowe said he arrested the man today and brought him to a north Dublin garda station, where he was charged.

In reply to one count, he said: “it’s bull***t, these charges will be dropped.”

He made no reply to the other seven.

The accused was heard to say in court: “This boy’s a liar” and “that’s lies, that’s lies.”

Gda Lowe said the DPP directed trial on indictment on all charges.

He objected to bail, handing the grounds in the court, which the judge read. The details were not read out in court.

Applying for bail, defence barrister Gareth Casey said his client was presumed innocent and it could take 18 months or longer for the case to come to trial in the circuit court.

“From his reply after caution, it’s abundantly clear that he denies the charges and that the matter is likely to proceed to full trial,” Mr Casey said.

Judge Kelly said the principal garda objections appeared to be that the accused was a flight risk and could intimidate witnesses.

The court heard the accused had lived out of the country recently and returned two to three weeks ago.

The alleged victim was “too scared” to come in to court and gave evidence by video link.

Asked how she would feel if the accused was granted bail, she said: “I’d be terrified, because of the threats and all he threw at me.

Threats that he was going to kill me, and things he was saying to me.”

She alleged he came to her door “screaming up he was going to kill me and that he was going to hurt me and all.”

She feared he would “really hurt me.”

After the alleged incident in 2022, “when he went away it was alright, I wasn’t panicking.

“But ever since he’s back I’ve been afraid he’s going to keep doing what he does. I was looking over my shoulder, every bang I’d hear I’d think it was him.”

The accused told the court the alleged victim was “in my house every day” and claimed the girl and her boyfriend had been “bullying my mum for money and smokes”.

He said the girl was “a great liar” and she and her boyfriend had been in a shopping centre with his mother yesterday.

Judge Kelly set bail to include a €600 independent surety, with conditions that the accused has no contact with the alleged victim or witnesses and lives at a different address in north Dublin.