A 61-year-old man who released two rats at his workplace because of an alleged grievance with a member of his management team has been sentenced to six months in prison.
John O'Neill, with an address at Glanduff, Kilbrittain, Co Cork, had pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage by releasing the rats in to the offices of Cork County Council at Rathbeg, Kinsale on 9 February, 2021.
Sgt Paul Kelly told Bandon District Court that Mr O'Neill was captured on CCTV entering the building with an item which was covered under his jacket, and again leaving the premises shortly afterwards.
Sgt Kelly said that when staff came to work on 10 February the offices were covered in excrement. Pest control officers were called in and on 12 February and Rentokill identified the source.
He said over the course of the few days the offices were "destroyed in excrement" and the cleaning process by Rentokill, in addition to the damage incurred, cost in the region of €3,000.
On 26 March management reported their suspicions that the rat infestation was deliberate.
On 24 May Garda Brosnan arrested Mr O'Neill and he was detained for questioning at Bandon Garda Station.
Sgt Kelly said that Mr O'Neill made "full and frank admissions". He told gardaí that he carried out the act because of a deteriorating relationship with management. He said that Mr O'Neill was genuinely remorseful and co-operated fully with gardaí.
He emphasised that, without the cooperation of Mr O'Neill, it might have been difficult to bring the case to fruition.
Mr O'Neill's solicitor Diarmuid O'Shea said that his client had brought €3,000 in court in compensation for his actions. The maximum sentence in the case was €2,500 or 12 months in prison.
Mr O'Shea said that his client was without previous convictions and had never come to the attention of gardaí. He stated that Mr O'Neill had been employed by the council for 23 years but had stepped down from his position when the incident emerged.
He retired early with "self-imposed" financial loss, the court heard. Mr O'Shea said that his client indicated that he carried out the act because of alleged difficulties in relations with a particular member of management over a long period of time.
"He was coming home and not sleeping. He was giving out. He ruined a holiday in Portugal," he said.
He said that his client had gone to hospital with stress in July, 2020. However, Judge McNulty said that there were plenty of ways of dealing with feelings of stress that didn't involve releasing rats in to an office.
Mr O'Shea said that his client had "just flipped" on the day of the offence. However, Judge McNulty said flipping suggested a spontaneous momentary lapse of behaviour.
"This required forethought and was a deliberate act. He needed to catch and find rats. He needed to release them," the judge said.
Judge McNulty said Mr O'Neill's alleged tension was with one colleague but his actions impacted on the whole workforce. He also stressed that there were two sides to every story.
Mr O'Shea insisted that the behaviour of his client was "daft" and completely out of character. He stated that his client knew it was "an awful horrible thing to do" and had expressed huge regret for his actions.
He added that Mr O'Neill wanted to apologise profusely for actions that he didn't understand himself.
"He has never been in court. He has never been in trouble with the law. It was stupid behaviour," he said.
While he accepted that Mr O'Neill was unlikely to re-offend, Judge McNulty ruled that the case merited a custodial sentence arising out of the careful planning and pre-meditation of the defendant.
Judge McNulty said that the behaviour of the defendant was "uniquely wicked" and "committed with malice".
He sentenced Mr O'Neill to six months in jail in order to send out a strong message and deterrent to others who may seek to offend in this manner.
