Bogus charity collectors appear in court
Howard Lake | 25 November 2008 | News
A teenage boy who was caught carrying out a bogus collection for the Irish Wheelchair Association on Dublin’s Dawson Street has been released on probation for nine months.
The 15-year-old boy and a girl aged 15 had pleaded guilty at the Dublin Children’s Court to charges under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act for dishonestly by deception inducing the public to give money for a bogus event for their own gain, on September 13 last.
Garda Wayne Donnelly of Pearse Street station had said that while conducting a plain clothes patrol in the Dawson Street area, the pair, and another youth, were seen entering a shop with a brochure. He said they “passed themselves off as collectors for the Irish Wheelchair Association” but added that they did not succeed in obtaining money from the people they approached.
He also gave evidence of another fake charity collection involving the girl three days previously. She was arrested when gardaí saw a €5 note being handed to her. After her arrest she was searched and a further €30 was recovered.
The girl, who was accompanied to court by her mother, had one previous conviction for theft, has been living in Ireland for seven years and has been receiving home tuition the court has been told.
The boy, who was also accompanied to court by his mother has been living in Ireland for nine years, had no previous convictions and is in full-time education.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.