Tipperary court told mother of two concealed stolen items under her skirt

A mother of two has been given a suspended sentence at Thurles District Court for stealing items from a shop by concealing them under her skirt.

Julie Munteanu (24), 2 Clonmel Road, Mitchelstown, Cork, pleaded guilty to theft from Centra, Church Street, Templemore on July 6, 2023.

Gardaí told the court that on the day of the incident they received a report from a member of staff at Centra Templemore that a woman had taken a number of items from the store concealed under her skirt.

The gardaí stopped the defendant’s vehicle, and when asked she handed back the items. The court was told the value of the items stolen came to €367.87 and were returned in saleable condition.

The court was told that Ms Munteanu had five previous convictions and was not alone on this day.

Her co-defendant had received a suspended sentence for the same incident.

The solicitor acting for the defendant, Paddy Cadell, told the court that his client was a mother of two and had not been in trouble since.

He said his client had returned the items when asked, and the store was not at any loss.

However, Judge Elizabeth MacGrath said “that was a credit to the gardaí”.

The judge imposed a six-month prison sentence on the defendant, suspended for two years.