Woman's high rate of offending 'very rare'

on 07/09/2012 00:00:00

Judge Con O'Leary jailed Ellen Scannell, of 7 Rathmore Rd, Cork, for five months yesterday at Cork District Court. "She is a rare individual. She is 39 and the number of women who accrue convictions at her rate is extremely rare."

Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said the defendant had been doing well and complying with the directions of the probation service for about 15 months before this incident occurred. However, he said the defendant's father died as a result of a relatively short illness and had been buried the day before.

Scannell pleaded guilty to being drunk and a source of danger to herself or others, being threatening and abusive and being in possession of a knife contrary to the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act.

Insp Mary King said the incident occurred outside Scannell's house after she had got out of a taxi in the early hours of Jun 29. Gardaí responded to a complaint about a woman refusing to pay a taxi fare. They found Scannell in a highly intoxicated state shouting abuse at a taxi driver. She dropped a Stanley knife and kicked it under the car as gardaí came near.

Scannell's behaviour on Jun 29 had consequences for her a few days after that when another judge revoked the suspension on part of an older sentence and jailed her for six months for failing to abide by the main condition of that sentence, that she would keep the peace.