A deaf man has been ordered not to loiter outside his neighbour’s home or a local school after appearing in court charged with harassing a doctor and his family.
John McGrotty, 65, appeared at Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal.
He is charged with a range of offences against his neighbours, Dr Dara McEniff, his wife and their four children aged 15, 14, 11 and 6 at Chapel Road, Dungloe.
A previous court sitting had heard how McGrotty had made rude gestures to the McEniff family, and their children, and threw rusty nails under the tyres of the family’s car.
He had also appeared naked in front of Mrs McEniff and was also charged with more than 30 other charges of harassment against the McEniffs going back over a number of years.
McGrotty had previously been sent to stay in Dublin with his daughter while the case was ongoing.
McGrotty, of St Peter’s Terrace, Dungloe, who is deaf and speech impaired communicated to the court with the assistance of a sign language interpreter.
The court had heard from Garda Eamon Roarty who said that Mr McGrotty was no longer harassing the McEniff family since the case was ongoing.
“He has been abiding by all the bail conditions. The McEniff family have had great peace since the bail conditions put in place,” he said.
Judge Kelly heard how progress was being made with McGrotty following intervention from Mr Declan Boyle, the only social worker in Donegal who is qualified to work with speech and hearing impaired people.
Judge Kelly said he had read the recommendations of the Probation Service.
He adjourned the case until 14th February next to determine if McGrotty is continuing to follow all the bail conditions.
He imposed a number of conditions warning not to interfere with the McEniff family, not to loiter on Chapel Road outside the local schools and also to engage in victim empathy development.
He asked the sign-language interpreter to make sure that Mr McGrotty understood all the bail conditions and he replied by signing “I absolutely understand that.”