Louis Walsh’s false accuser stole €650
DANCE teacher Leonard Watters, who was previously jailed for making false allegations against pop impresario Louis Walsh, has received a suspended sentence for raiding a man’s bank account.
Garda Graham O’Neill told Judge Bryan Smyth that Watters, 28, had met the person socially at Dame Street in Dublin city centre on November 28, 2014.
They returned to this man’s address and were seen on CCTV arriving at about 3am. Subsequently Watters was seen leaving at about 4.22am, Garda O’Neill said.
The following morning the victim, who is in his 30s, became aware that his wallet containing €60 and his bank cards was missing.
He checked his bank account online and observed there had been two transactions.
Watters, who was identified from CCTV footage, had withdrawn a total of €590 from two ATMs within an hour of leaving the victim’s home.
The man did not have to be called to give evidence in the case and did not want to provide a victim-impact statement, but came to court to watch the proceedings.
Garda O’Neill said Watters had eight prior convictions. The latest three offences were for giving false information to gardaí in relation to former X Factor judge Louis Walsh which led to him getting an 11-month sentence with five months suspended in 2012.
His remaining convictions were for breaching a barring order and motoring offences.
Father-of-two Watters, of Woodview, Navan, Co. Meath, pleaded guilty to stealing a named man’s wallet containing €60 and bank cards from his apartment in Kilmainham, Dublin.
He also pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to theft of €290 and €300 from bank machines at O’Connell Street and Temple Bar Square in the city centre on the same date.
Leonard Leader, defending, said Watters had a drink problem but ‘fell off the wagon’ and was under the influence of alcohol when the theft happened.
He said it was ‘ on the spur of the moment’ after the victim fell asleep.
Mr Leader told the court how Watters was aged nine when he suffered third-degree burns over a third of his body which affected his emotional and cognitive development.
He has been on painkillers since and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, the court heard. Watters later began working as a barman and after that he set up a dance school.
However, that business has ‘dried up’ as a result of the publicity following his previous case, and he has been unable to work since. He also gets abused when walking around his hometown, the court was told.
Judge Smyth said yesterday that Watters had brought €650 to court for the victim.
The judge imposed a nine-month sentence but suspended it on condition that Watters keep the peace and not re-offend for two years.
After court, Mr Leader said Watters had no comment to make.