Posted by ‘visibly shaken’ |
Man who made sexual and racial remarks to scared Dublin shop worker spared criminal record
Ishan Makhan (33) went on to make sexual comments to the arresting garda when he was found after the incident
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A man threatened a frightened shop assistant in a city centre store, making sexual and racial comments and leaving her “visibly shaken”, a court heard.
Ishan Makhan (33) went on to make sexual comments to the arresting garda when he was found after the incident.
Judge Bryan Smyth spared him a criminal record after hearing Makhan was suffering from mental health issues at the time and “wanted to be arrested.”
He applied the Probation of Offenders Act, leaving the accused without recorded convictions.
Makhan pleaded guilty to two counts of threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour on August 22 this year.
Dublin District Court heard gardai responded to a panic alarm activation at Circle K on Grafton Street. When they got to the scene they met the employee who was upset and visibly shaken. She told the gardai a man – Makhan – had entered the shop, threatened her and made racial comments to her.
He said he would wait for her after work and she would “see what would happen,” Sergeant Michelle Lynch told the court.
He also made sexual comments to the shop worker.
Gardai went on patrol and found the accused. He told a female garda he had been at the shop on Grafton Street and “wanted to get arrested.”
He told the garda he would “get her” and also made sexual comments to her, the court heard.
Members of the public were nearby and could hear what he said.
Makhan had no previous convictions.
The accused, who was from Mauritius, had suffered from mental health issues, his solicitor Brian Doherty said. He had been working until earlier this year, when “things went awry” for him.
His family believed he had undiagnosed schizophrenia.
Judge Smyth remarked that the incident had been “very upsetting” for the shop employee but said the offences were “more indicative of mental health issues” than anything else.
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