A young man accused by Gardai of trespassing at farm sheds in Co Donegal said he was merely at the premises for a romantic meeting with his girlfriend.
Curtis Parke, 22, and his then-girfriend were caught by the owner David Miller at his farm sheds outside the village of St Johnston.
The lock was broken off the door and it was open but nothing had been taken from inside the premises which contained old tools.
Mr Miller said Parke was having a cigarette beside the van and sheds when he approached them at around 5.30pm on September 30th, 2017.
He denied breaking into the shed but admitted looking inside the sheds out of curiosity.
Solicitor for the accused, Mr Frank Dorrian, said Parke, of Listillion, Letterkenny, was not planning to carry out a burglary at the sheds but was there for romantic reasons.
He said nothing was taken and did admit taking a glance into the sheds but denied doing anything to a broken lock.
Mr Parke told Letterkenny District Court that he had no intentions of stealing anything from the sheds.
He told the court “I had no house at the time and myself and my girlfriend went down there to bond for a while.”
Garda McConalogue said he did not believe the excuse given by the accused for being in the sheds.
“I belive that if he was being romantic with his girlfriend then he would have done so in the van and he didn’t have to open the shed,” he said.
His solicitor added that there was no evidence or admission that he intended to do anything and that curiosity does not create an offence.
Passing judgement, Judge Paul Kelly said that if the accused did have the intention of ‘bonding’ with his girlfriend then it would have been prudent to check the shed to see if anybody was there.
He dismissed the charge against the accused.