TARGET: A model in La Senza underwear, which the burglar took

A teen knicker thief was discovered burgling a woman’s home while dressed in her clothes.

Twisted burglar John Maguire, 18, appeared at Craigavon Magistrates Court on Friday charged with the bizarre burglary.

Aghagallon man Maguire was rumbled by his traumatised victim inside her home on September 22 last year wearing two of her tops, the court was told.

After he ran past her in the direction of his own home on the Moytown Road, she discovered he had rifled through her underwear and stolen some of her knickers.

It is believed that Maguire, whose family run the successful Island Salads company in Aghagallon, was later discovered by police in bed wearing her pants.

He had also ripped some of her dresses trying them on, and had creepily laid out sets of silky underwear on her bed.

In court, Maguire’s solicitor tried to gag the victim from talking about the incident on social media but a judge denied the request.

The lawyer said his teenage client apologised for his actions and had been very drunk when he entered the woman’s home.

But his victim, who is still emotionally scarred by the break-in, said Maguire has never said sorry.

BANNING

Maguire was given an 18-month probation order for his crime and ordered to pay his victim £250 compensation.

He was also handed a restraining order banning him from contacting the woman for two years.

But speaking from his family business yesterday, Maguire’s father told Sunday Life the incident had been “blown out of proportion”.

“What he did wasn’t even that bad, it was blown way out of proportion,” he said.

“He is only 18 and he has never been in trouble before in his life.

“John is devastated by this; he has been in bed crying his eyes out.”

Speaking after court to Sunday Life about her ordeal, Maguire’s victim explained how she had returned from a night out to find her front door of her home locked from the inside.

“I couldn’t get in and after knocking and knocking, John Maguire appeared standing before me wearing my clothes — I was in total shock as I knew him from living near me.

“He then took off two of my tops and ran off with just jeans on towards his own home.”

The woman immediately called police but as she went to her bedroom things took an even stranger turn.

“He had carefully placed matching sets of underwear on my bed, some on the floor and others on bedside drawers.

“I could see his T-shirt and belt on my floor and felt physically sick,” she said.

“His boxers were laying on my window sill and and he had gone through my wardrobe and drawers trying on a few dresses and nightwear, which he had ripped while doing so.

“Everything he had picked out was silk or satin, nice La Senza underwear, the dresses he had tried on were from Karen Millen — he had only gone for the nicest things. He used my bedroom to get his sick kicks.”

The woman was left so disturbed that she completely redecorated her bedroom and threw out clothes from the drawers he had touched.

Belfast Telegraph