Michael Martin, aged 37, who was living at Shandon Court, Yellow Road, Waterford City when the incident occurred, had pleaded guilty to false imprisonment of the girl along the roadside near Oldtown, Cullohill, Co Laois on March 4 last.
Judge Keenan Johnson sentenced Martin at Portlaoise Circuit Criminal Court to 17 years imprisonment with the final four suspended on November 5, 2015.
Martin moved to appeal his sentence yesterday on a number of grounds including the “overly punitive” nature of the sentence, in the words of his barrister, Kevin White BL.
Mr White submitted to the Court of Appeal that the sentence was entirely disproportionate to the circumstances of the case and at was variance with comparative cases. A further ground was the “protective” nature of the sentence and the emphasis the court placed on the need to protect society, Mr White submitted.
The sentencing judge remarked that he would have imposed a life sentence on Martin if that measure was available to him, Mr White said. Counsel further submitted that the sentencing judge erred in holding that Martin failed to fully co-operate with gardaí.
Finally, Mr White said the trial judge placed too much emphasis on the aggravating factors rather than focusing fairly on the mitigating factors.
Mr White said Martin had 92 previous convictions, the majority of which related to thefts and burglary, and only two were of relevance. He said Martin was given 12 months for sexual assault in 2000.
Martin was subsequently involved in an “abduction case” when a 14-year-old girl travelled to Belfast with him. Martin, who was 25 years old at the time, remained in telephone contact with the girl’s parents during the incident and handed himself in, Mr White said. He was jailed for two years.
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, John William Fennelly BL, said the appropriate sentence was adopted. Mr Fennelly said it was a serious case and there were “red flags” in Martin’s prior record and in a psychological report.
It was a case of a very young child being lifted from a green area next to her hall door. He said the court had to have regard to the vulnerability of young children in cases such as that.
Reserving judgment, Mr Justice George Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan and Mr Justice Alan Mahon, said the case is of “enormous seriousness”.
Judge Johnson, who originally sentenced Martin, praised the girl and her twin brothers at the time of sentencing.
The children had been playing when the accused approached them. The man grabbed the girl and pushed her into the passenger seat of the jeep.
As he did so the girl’s brother attacked Mr Martin and clung onto the side of the jeep as he attempted to drive away. During the boy’s attack on Mr Martin, the young girl was able to escape.