A 22-yr-old man who caused more than €60,000 in damage by graffitiing train carriages and who assaulted an Iarnród Éireann staff member has received a four-year suspended sentence, reports RTE.
Sean Cullen, from Hope Avenue in East Wall, Dublin, admitted to two charges of criminal damage and one count of assault, after using pepper spray on a train driver who attempted to stop him on September 25, 2021.
Judge Martin Nolan remarked that looking at Cullen, one might think “butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth,” but warned that he would face prison if he reoffended, reports RTE.
The incident began when a train driver saw two men behaving suspiciously at the Fairview Dart Depot, where they were not authorised to be.
As the driver approached and tried to stop them, Cullen pepper sprayed him during a scuffle, reports RTE.
A second man also got involved, and the pair fled the area.
Cullen was later linked to other graffiti cases, including an incident at Docklands Train Station on February 21, 2020, where carriages were sprayed with silver and black paint, reports RTE.
Graffiti was also found inside the carriage, with ‘SD’ written using a marker.
Another case occurred at Connolly Station on November 22, 2021, reports RTE.
On June 6, 2020, the outside of an equipment signal container at Merrion Gates, Merrion Road, was also spray-painted.
Cullen was identified through CCTV footage, and when Gardaí searched his home in May 2022, they found spray cans and related items, reports RTE.
His fingerprints were also discovered at the scenes.
He had one prior conviction for causing property damage.
Judge Nolan noted that Cullen “seems to have developed a need to spray paint and graffiti public buildings, particularly on the DART,” reports RTE.
The judge said Cullen had done considerable damage, but pointed out that as an apprentice electrician, he had prospects.
He added that Cullen was unlikely to reoffend and expressed hope that he would make a positive contribution to society, reports RTE.
Judge Nolan said he had briefly jailed Cullen for two days as a warning about the consequences of any future wrongdoing.
“I hope he has learned some lesson from his time in jail,” the judge said, “it would be particularly tough for him. He’s young, remorseful and I think he can change, it seems to be unjust to imprison him,” reports RTE.
“You might think you are an artist, but the company had to clean carriages,” the judge added, reports RTE.
After the hearing, Iarnród Éireann Security Consultant Aidan Reid said Cullen was the fifth person to be convicted for criminal damage.
He said a group of four other individuals — a graffiti crew from Spain — had also travelled to Ireland to tag trains, bringing the total damage to over €300,000, reports RTE.
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