Arts worker who ‘naively’ bought stolen bicycle on Facebook has case struck out

Kevin Barrington (61) was stopped by gardaí pushing the bike out of an inner city flats complex.

He was left without a criminal record when he made a €300 charity donation at Dublin District Court.

Judge Maire Conneely struck the case out on payment of the money.

Barrington, with an address at Mountjoy Street, pleaded guilty to knowingly or recklessly being in possession of stolen property.

A garda told the court gardaí were on duty at 10am on February 3 this year when they saw the accused pushing a bike from Oliver Bond flats.

When asked about it, Barrington said he had bought the bike from Facebook Marketplace for €300. The bike was worth €1,000 and had been stolen, the court heard.

Barrington had no previous convictions.

The accused had never been in trouble before, his solicitor told the court.

He had been “quite naive in the circumstances” and asked the court for leniency.

Barrington was not a man of means and worked in the arts but was prepared to make a charitable donation to avoid a conviction, he said.

The judge struck the charge out after the money was handed in for donation to Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

The charge of possession of stolen property is under Section 18 of the Theft and Fraud Offences Act.