Here is your round-up of cases heard before courts around Northern Ireland from April 27-30
Cases before Northern Ireland courts this past week included the sentencing of a former teacher for sexually abusing pupils at an all-girls grammar school in Belfast.
Elsewhere, a North Belfast man was remanded in custody accused of causing a collision which caused the death of a teenager and left another child in a critical condition.
The courts also heard the case of a man who allegedly spied on a woman at Ulster University toilets.
Here is your latest round up of cases before the courts between Monday, April 27 and Friday, April 30.
Man accused of sexually abusing six-year-old who is friends with his own child
A 49-year-old man has been returned for trial in relation to the alleged sexual abuse of a six-year-old girl who is friends with his own child.
The accused, who is from Enniskillen but cannot be named at this time in order to protect the identity of the girl, is charged with causing a child to engage in sexual activity as well as indecently exposing his genitals.
Offending is alleged to have occurred on a date between 23 June and 8 September 2025.
Ex-teacher, 77, jailed for 1970s abuse of schoolgirls
A former teacher convicted by a jury of sexually abusing pupils at an all-girls grammar in Belfast was handed a two-year jail sentence on Tuesday.
The sentence was imposed upon William Lloyd-Lavery at Belfast Crown Court by Judge Patrick Lynch KC. The 77-year old, from Richmond Avenue in Lisburn, will also spend the next ten years on the Sex Offenders Register.
As he sent Lloyd-Lavery to jail, Judge Lynch said the four victims – who were sexually abused when they were aged around 13 – were “to be commended for coming forward to expose a paedophile.”
Drunk man avoids jail for attempted sexual assault of child on easyJet flight
A man who was convicted of multiple offences committed on a flight to Belfast, including the attempted sexual assault of a girl under 13, was handed a suspended prison sentence.
Imposing a four-month jail sentence on Ramiz Idrizi on Tuesday, District Judge Nigel Broderick said while the incident involving the young girl was “extremely serious,” nevertheless he was satisfied the sentences could be suspended for two years.
The PPS had applied for the imposition of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, arguing that the 38-year-old posed such a risk that an order was both necessary and proportionate.
‘We will all be un-alived, unless we wake up’ says man accused of 5G arsons
Two brothers already facing accusations of setting fire to 5G masts have been charged with further offences.
Giving evidence to Belfast Magistrates Court on Tuesday, a Detective Inspector revealed that “new evidence has been uncovered during the course of the investigation, that relates to similar offending around a number of 5G masts.”
Michael Clarke, 46, from the Monagh Road in the west of the city, is charged with two counts of arson of 5G masts, both alleged to have been committed on 1 June 2023, one at the Park Centre and another in the Owenvarragh area.
“You are a danger to the public”- Disqualified driver charged over crash death
A disqualified driver appeared in court in relation to a serious crash in which a man died last weekend.
The front seat passenger in the vehicle, Emmet Potter from Carrickmore, is believed to have died at the scene of the crash, which occurred on Derrycourtney Road, just outside the village of Caledon, on 25 April.
On Wednesday, Darren Peter Andrew Callaghan, 38, from Ballynahatty Road, Fintona, appeared in court charged with causing Mr Potter’s death by driving dangerously and while unfit through drink or drugs.
He is further accused of driving while disqualified, without insurance, fraudulent use of a vehicle registration mark and failing to wear a seatbelt.
Man allegedly spied on a woman at university toilets while peforming sex act
A man who allegedly spied on a woman at Ulster University toilets is to be barred from any further return to the Belfast campus, a High Court judge ordered on Wednesday.
Michael McNally is accused of peering over the top of a cubicle at her while performing a sexual act on himself. Mr Justice McAlinden granted bail to the 39-year-old after imposing a strict exclusion zone.
“It will encompass the main campus and accommodation blocks in that area,” he stressed.
McNally, of Cliftonpark Avenue in Belfast, faces a charge of voyeurism over an alleged incident in ladies toilets at the city centre university on December 2 last year.
Belfast man expresses ‘complete and utter regret’ after death of teen in crash
A North Belfast man appeared in court and was remanded in custody on Wednesday, accused of causing a collision which caused the death of a teenager and has left another child in a critical condition.
Appearing handcuffed in the dock of Limavady Magistrates Court, sitting in Coleraine, 29-year-old Tiernan McCann confirmed he understood the eight charges against him.
McCann, from Flax Street in Belfast, is charged with causing the death of Callum Hutchinson by driving dangerously and carelessly on the Belfast Road at Nutts Corner on 26 April this year.
The 29-year-old is also charged with causing grievous bodily injury to an 11-year-old boy, also by dangerous and careless driving.
Two soldiers ‘lost control’ in fatal shootings in Belfast, coroner finds
Two soldiers “lost control” in the fatal shootings of five people in Belfast almost 54 years ago, a coroner has said.
The British Army soldiers did not use reasonable force in the shooting of a Catholic priest, a father-of-six and three teenagers in two areas of west Belfast on July 9 1972, the coroner ruled.
Mr Justice Scoffield said that Father Noel Fitzpatrick, 42, father-of-six Patrick Butler, 38, and teenagers David McCafferty and Margaret Gargan were unarmed and posed no risk when they were shot.
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