In one of the cases heard this week, a man appeared in court charged with the murder of pensioner, Sean Small, in Newcastle last weekend.
This past week was the last of the summer recess for our courts, with many more hearings set to take place across Northern Ireland from next week onwards.
In one of the cases heard this week, a man appeared in court charged with the murder of pensioner, Sean Small, who was found dead outside his home in Co Down last weekend.
Also in this week’s court headlines, a man reportedly wrestled a woman to the ground in a Newtownards car park during a “disturbing” daylight sexual assault.
And a local firm was fined £175,000 over a “tragic death” that investigators said was “completely preventable”.
READ MORE: Newry survivor of Christian Brother Paul Dunleavy says ‘death does not bring justice’READ MORE: Co Down woman admits creating “fabricated and malicious accusations” about sex assault
Below is our weekly roundup of some of those who have been before the courts this week, beginning August 25, 2025.
Look out for:
- Sean Small murder accused appears in court
- Co Antrim couple appear in court facing child cruelty charges
- Belfast man ‘wanted to go back to prison’ after being caught burgling house
- Co Down man who stole £30,000 from club while he was treasurer sentenced
- NI firm fined £175,000 over “tragic death” that was “completely preventable”
- Co Antrim man admits voyeurism and making indecent photographs of children
- Woman ‘wrestled to the ground’ in daylight sexual assault at car park
- Woman ‘jumped from moving vehicle and hid in bush’ to escape alleged kidnapper
- Man fled in taxi after ‘reversing over three’ children in Belfast, court told
- Warrant issued for man charged with theft of £95K Banksy art
Sean Small murder accused appears in court
A man appeared in court on Friday charged with the murder of a pensioner found dead outside his home in Co Down.
Sean Small, 84, was found dead outside his home on Slievenabrock Avenue in Newcastle on Sunday. Mark William Bready, 41, of Slievenabrock Avenue in Newcastle, appeared before Newtownards Magistrates’ Court on Friday charged with the murder.
He was remanded in custody by the judge. Bready is accused of killing Mr Small on a date between August 19 and August 24.
Mr Small had recently been released from prison after serving a sentence for sexual offences.
Read more here
Co Antrim couple appear in court facing child cruelty charges
A Co Antrim couple appeared in court on Friday where they denied a series of child cruelty charges.
The couple – who can’t be named to protect the identities of their children – appeared alongside each other in the dock of Belfast Crown Court.
After confirming their identities to a court clerk, the pair were both arraigned on a charge of child cruelty – namely wilfully neglecting a child under the age of 16 in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health between May 1, 2016 and February 23, 2018.
When the 55-year old female defendant was asked how she pleaded to the first charge, she replied “not guilty.” The same charge was then put to her 49-year old husband and when he was asked how he pleaded, he answered “not guilty.”
Read more here
Belfast man ‘wanted to go back to prison’ after being caught burgling house
A Belfast man who told police he wanted to go back to prison after being caught burgling a house was jailed for 12 months on Thursday.
When he is released from custody Thomas Samuel Rodgers – who has 109 previous convictions – will spend an additional 20 months on licence. The 44-year old, from Finmore Court in the east of the city, was sentenced for two counts of burglary and one count of possessing cannabis.
Read more here
Co Down man who stole £30,000 from club while he was treasurer sentenced
A 63-year-old Co Down man, who stole over £30,000 from the Belfast and District Motor Club whilst holding the position of treasurer, avoided being sent to jail on Thursday.
Roy Beattie was handed a 15-month sentence which was suspended for two years by Judge Gordon Kerr KC. From Cranfield Grange in Kircubbin, Beattie admitted stealing a total of £30,565 from the Club over a period spanning from January 2013 to December 31, 2018.
Belfast Crown Court heard that in 2018 the Belfast and District Motor Club – which is affiliated with the Motorcycle Union of Ireland and which promotes motorcycle races – uncovered the fraud.
Read more here
NI firm fined £175,000 over “tragic death” that was “completely preventable”
A Northern Ireland firm has been fined £175,000 over a “tragic death” that investigators say was “completely preventable”.
The Co Antrim trailer manufacturing company was fined on Wednesday over health and safety failings that lead to the death of father-of-three Maciej Wieczorek.
Imposing the fine on McCauley Trailers Ltd, Judge Alistair Devlin paid tribute to the 46-year-old. Mr Wieczorek’s widow and other family members sat in the public gallery of Antrim Crown Court, listening as the judge outlined how the victim was clearly “warm, affable and clearly a man of undoubted good character”.
Read more here
Co Antrim man admits voyeurism and making indecent photographs of children
A Co Antrim man pleaded guilty to voyeurism and making indecent photographs of children on Tuesday. Craig Cully, 34, appeared from custody at Belfast Crown Court to be arraigned on a total of nine charges he faced.
Cully, whose address on court papers was given as care of a solicitor’s office in Ballymena, entered guilty pleas to viewing a female in a private act and without her consent for the purposes of his own sexual gratification.
He also admitted taking and making indecent photographs of a child, possessing extreme pornography and possessing a prohibited image of a child. The defendant further pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, namely that he concealed a mobile phone from the PSNI. The offences were committed on dates between March 22, 2022 and February 28, 2023.
Read more here
Woman ‘wrestled to the ground’ in daylight sexual assault at car park
A man reportedly wrestled a woman to the ground in a Newtownards car park during a “disturbing” daylight sexual assault, a court heard on Tuesday.
Mattew Dickson, 26, of Spelga Place, Newtownards, appeared at Newtownards Magistrates Court after being charged with two counts of sexual assault following an incident in Talbot Street car park in the Co Down town.
The court heard that the victim, had been getting into her car when she was approached by a man with curly hair in a bun, jeans and black backpack who wrestled her to the ground before putting his hand up her top and groping her. He is then reported to have penetrated her with his finger before fleeing the scene.
Dickson, who appeared in court in handcuffs wearing a grey tracksuit, was detained by members of the public nearby who called the police.
Read more here
Woman ‘jumped from moving vehicle and hid in bush’ to escape alleged kidnapper
A woman jumped out of a moving vehicle and hid in a bush in an attempt to hide from a man who was trying to kidnap her and force her to take drugs, a court heard on Tuesday.
Tony Fusco, 41, of Central Promenade, Newcastle, appeared in court via video link after being charged with multiple offences, including kidnap, false imprisonment and common assault following the incident that took place in the early hours of Sunday, August 24.
The court heard that the woman and a male friend had been walking along Falls Road at around 5am, following a concert in Belfast, and had been attempting to flag down a taxi.
Read more here
Man fled in taxi after ‘reversing over three’ children in Belfast, court told
A man was reportedly found by police in a taxi attempting to flee the scene of a collision where he had allegedly reversed over three children in a car in West Belfast.
Thomas Maughan, 37, of Black Ridge Gardens, appeared at Belfast Magistrates Court via video link from custody on Tuesday, where he faced five charges following an incident on Sunday, August 24, when three children were injured in a collision on Black Ridge View.
These include causing grievous bodily harm, driving with excess alcohol and failing to remain at the scene of a collision.
Read more here
Warrant issued for man charged with theft of £95K Banksy art
A judge issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a man charged with stealing a £95,000 piece of Banksy artwork.
Ahmed Bouazzi, 40, of Roden Street, Belfast was due to be arraigned at Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday for a single charge of theft.
Co-accused Adil Hajjaj, 50, of Sandymount Street, Belfast was formally arraigned and pleaded guilty to theft of the limited edition ‘Laugh Now’ print from Charles Gilmore Fine Art gallery on April 2 this year.
He further pleaded guilty to receiving stolen goods on the same date, namely a bottle of rum from Ross’s Auctioneers.
Read more here
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