Jeremy in jail after skipping community work dates
IRISH reality TV star Jeremy McConnell is facing Christmas behind bars – as he has been jailed for 18 weeks after skipping community service to get a beard and hair transplant. Dubliner McConnell, 27, inset below, was given the bad news at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday. And it sounds like he was prepared for the worst, as prior to appearing in court, he posted on his Snapchat account: ‘If I don’t see yas have a good Christmas.’
The former Big Brother contestant had been hauled back into the dock after he failed to comply with a community work order that he was given in August. McConnell had been handed a 20-week suspended sentence and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, after being found guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend Stephanie Davis.
Yesterday, probation services recommended he be given extra hours of unpaid work for missing eight work appointments. However, Judge Wendy Lloyd told McConnell he was being sent to jail. She said his ‘enthusiasm for cooperation has been short-lived and there’s nothing to show in the future things will change’.
McConnell’s head remained bowed after sentencing and he was silent as he was led away. The TV star’s solicitor James Morris announced he intended to appeal the sentence immediately.
Despite being pictured wearing a hi-vis jacket while sweeping roads around the Welsh capital, McConnell skipped out on doing his total required hours.
Instead he went to get a hair and beard transplant at a clinic in Istanbul. Sources close to McConnell said it was so he can look the ‘best he can’ as he propels himself back into the spotlight in upcoming projects.
Solicitor Mr Morris said McConnell had completed 76 of his 200 hours, and blamed his absences on him going through a ‘very dark period in his personal life’.
The Irish TV star was found guilty in August of attacking former Hollyoaks actress Ms Davis, 24, at her home in Merseyside in March. A judge said he had shown no remorse for the attack or the impact it must have had on the pair’s son Caben, who is now ten months old.