Career criminal Michael Cash was on bail when he broke into the home of Eva Sutton, pictured, who was left with broken bones

Career criminal Michael Cash was on bail when he broke into the home of Eva Sutton, who was left with broken bones

A Dublin man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison with the final two years suspended for violently assaulting and falsely imprisoning an 89-year-old woman in her own home.

Career criminal Michael Cash (25), who has 96 previous convictions and was on bail at the time of the offence, was one of two men who broke into the home of Eva Sutton in the early hours of September 15, 2015.

The elderly victim was tied up, beaten and her home burgled during a 90 minute ordeal, which Judge Michael Walsh said amounted to "torture".

Throughout the incident Ms Sutton pleaded with her attackers to stop, but instead they proceeded to kick her in the head and chest.

In April his co-accused, Jamie O'Brien (23), was given a 10 year prison term with the final two years suspended for his involve in the shocking crime.

O'Brien was on bail at the time of the incident and has 30 previous convictions, of which nine are burglary related offences.

Expand Close Career criminal Michael Cash was on bail when he broke into the home of Eva Sutton, pictured, who was left with broken bones / Facebook

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Whatsapp Career criminal Michael Cash was on bail when he broke into the home of Eva Sutton, pictured, who was left with broken bones

This afternoon at Wicklow Circuit Court, Michael Cash, formerly of Ashlawn Park, Ballybrack, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on all three counts which will run concurrently.

Judge Walsh suspended the last two years of each sentence.

A medical report read out in court also described how Ms Sutton was "tortured, taunted and dragged by her hair" around her beloved home during the terrifying ordeal in the early hours of September 15, 2015.

The pensioner also suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung, a broken nose and required stitches to her face and leg.

During the assault the two thugs threatened to kill and shoot the elderly woman as they ransacked her home of 54 years. They also alleged they had connections to the IRA which was used as a threat against Ms Sutton.

When she asked them not to pull her by the hair, they began kicking her in the head and chest.

The two thugs tied up Ms Sutton with dog leads and belts, and left her lying helpless in the sitting room before fleeing.

The men entered her home at 4.38am that morning, and left at 6.03am.

Speaking to Paul Reynolds on RTE Radio's News at One today, Ms Sutton said that she has never returned to her home and can't bear to even look at the house since her ordeal.

She said: "I pass it but I don't look at it, I couldn't bring myself to look.

"I had a lot of really good times there, I reared my family there, I was there since 1959."

Ms Sutton now lives in a respite home and said that she misses her old life.

She said: "I haven't a home any longer, I haven't the home that I had.

"It's a lovely home I'm in now and I have everything I want but I could do everything for myself at home, I could go to the shops and meet my friends.

"I miss all that, I miss the people of Bray, I really do, I miss Bray and I miss all my friends.

"I knew the time was coming and I was getting on in years and that I would eventually have to give it up but I wasn't ready for that, it didn't feel anywhere near that."

She told RTE the thieves must have awoken her before the attack, and they demanded money and jewellery. She told them she had none as she was a pensioner. They had already found her “good jewellery” which she had worn earlier that day and had left “in a little jug covered with tissue paper”.

“I asked them to please leave me alone. They didn’t. I had seven broken ribs, a punctured lung, a broken nose. My legs were all cut. I don’t know what cut them, but my legs were all bleeding,” she said.

“They dragged me from the hall to the sitting room by my hair. I remember looking at the clock and it was 5 o’clock or 6 o’clock. He tied my legs. I knew one wasn’t very well tied up but I said nothing.

“I don’t know if they left or if I was unconscious. When I came to I loosened my legs and got up. The hall door was already open.

“I looked up the road, there was a man standing at the bus stop. I shouted help, but he ignored me,” she said.

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