A court has heard a man set his sister's home on fire after she refused to sell herself for sex to get him money for drugs.
Glen Friel appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court in Co Donegal after pleading guilty to setting fire to his sister's rented home at Straleeny, Killybegs on April 22nd, 2020.
The court heard how the 24-year-old accused arrived at the house and wanted his sister to give him money for drugs and even asked her to sell her body for money and threatened to kill her if she refused.
The terrified woman asked her mother to call gardaí and Friel then managed to barricade himself into the house.
His sister left the house, which she had been renting for five years. The court heard Friel smashed the property before setting it alight and then fled the scene.
The house belonged to a local man, Conal Doherty, and was worth €130,000, the court was told.
'Joy and revenge'
Approximately €79,450 worth of damage was caused to the house, and the contents of the house were not insured.
When arrested, Friel made some admissions and said he wanted to start the fire to bring him "joy and revenge".
He told gardaí he was hoping to get revenge on his sister Linda as she had been a "bitch" to him that day.
"I do feel a bit angry, but I'm sorry at the same time," he told gardaí.
Garda Sergeant Stuart Doyle said Friel admitted to starting the fire with a lighter, but did not think he had started it in the bedroom of the house as the fire service had suspected.
The court was told that Friel, of no fixed abode, has 12 previous convictions, including for threatening and abusive behaviour, assault, possession of drugs, and intoxication in a public place.
The injured party, Mr Doherty, did not attend court or submit a victim impact statement.
Troubled individual
Barrister for the accused, Colm Smyth, SC, said his client had a number of issues.
Counsel said Friel suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after his brother died by suicide when the accused was nine-years-old, and he was also sexually assaulted when he was a young boy.
He no longer speaks to his parents and had been living rough in Dublin.
Friel, who has been in custody since last October, took to the witness stand and expressed his remorse to Mr Doherty.
Asking Judge John Aylmer to be as lenient as possible, Mr Smyth said his client is indeed a troubled individual with a number of diagnoses, including PTSD and a personality disorder.
He has expressed a desire to get back on track and engage with various agencies, Mr Smyth said, adding that if he does not, he will end up in a very difficult position and his life will be cut short.
"He doesn't immediately give one confidence, but I think he has a lot of outlying issues," his barrister added.
Judge Aylmer adjourned the case until later in the week, requesting time to read the psychiatric report on Friel in more detail.
