A motorist falsely imprisoned a teenage boy who threw stones at his van and drove him around for an hour before dropping him at the side of the road.

Robert Dempsey (28) wanted the boy to pay for his cracked windscreen, a court heard.

Dempsey claimed he was going to bring the 14-year-old home to his parents, but the boy begged him not to as he would get into trouble.

He said he was driving the boy around while he tried to get the money to pay for the damaged windscreen.

Statement

Judge David McHugh asked for a victim impact statement and adjourned sentencing.

Dempsey admitted before Blanchardstown District Court to false imprisonment at Beechpark Avenue in Castleknock on January 11, 2015.

Sergeant Maria Callaghan said the boy was with friends when he threw an item at oncoming traffic, and it hit the defendant’s van. Sgt Callaghan said the boy claimed it was an acorn, but Dempsey said it was a rock.

The youths dispersed and Dempsey followed them, before locating the teen at the pedestrian bridge at Castleknock Tennis Club.

Sgt Callaghan said the pair walked into a tunnel and CCTV showed them returning to the van. The CCTV showed a dispute between them before Dempsey forced the boy into his van.

Dempsey drove him around for an hour while the boy rang his friends trying to get the money. One of the boy’s friends told his parents and they contacted gardai. The boy was not physically injured, but was badly traumatised. Defence solicitor Terence Hanahoe said the stone caused €215 worth of damage.

He accepted Dempsey, of Castleknock Grove in Castleknock, was “in a bit of a temper”.

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