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Criminal (40) left ‘ordinary citizen’ witness in fear after courtroom gesture

Jonathan Kenny (40) pointed to his eyes, then gestured towards a witness who gave evidence

Today at 14:30

An “ordinary decent citizen” who gave evidence at a Dublin District Criminal Court hearing was left in fear after the accused man made a threatening gesture towards them in a courtroom.

After his conviction for an offence of trespass, Jonathan Kenny (40) pointed to his eyes, then gestured towards a witness who gave evidence at the sentence hearing on September 8, 2022 in Courtroom 4 at the Criminal Courts of Justice.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today that the injured party told the investigating garda about the incident.

Other members of An Garda Siochana also saw what had happened, including Kenny showing his biceps in a gesture of strength.

The investigating garda told the court that the injured party was distressed and afraid in the wake of Kenny’s gesture.

Kenny was acquitted of the offence of trespass following an appeal in which the injured party gave evidence without issue, the court was told. There has been no further contact between Kenny and the injured party.Kenny, of Monasterboice Road, Crumlin, Dublin, was originally charged with witness intimidation, but pleaded guilty to assault, which was acceptable to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

He has 108 previous convictions, including for robbery, assault and theft.He is currently serving a custodial sentence on separate matters and has an earliest release date in February 2027.She said Kenny’s “substantial” number of previous convictions along with the context in which the offence occurred are aggravating factors.

Having considered the mitigation, she imposed a sentence of four months, suspended in full for two years on strict conditions.

Judge Codd directed that this suspended sentence start on the expiry of the custodial sentence Kenny is currently serving.