A man who stole more than €90,000 from a primary school while he was chairperson of the board of management has been given a suspended sentence.
Roy Hicks (73), who is living in a care home, pleaded guilty to 22 counts of theft from St George’s National School in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, between June 17th, 2019, and November 12th, 2021.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard how Hicks, who is originally from Wales and runs an accountancy firm there, spent the money he stole “to keep that business afloat”.
Hicks, of Hampton Green, Balbriggan, stole €91,149.25 in all.
Sentencing Hicks, Judge Orla Crowe said the offence represented “a significant breach of trust”. She acknowledged he had suffered significant health difficulties since.
She accepted he was not in a position to compensate the school, which she said had lost a lot of money.
The judge also accepted Hicks was unlikely to come before the courts again.
She said the offence warranted a headline sentence of four years before she sentenced him to two years and five months, which she suspended in full on strict conditions.
Pieter Le Vert, prosecuting, said Hicks got the school principal to sign cheques for him, which Hicks then made payable to himself and lodged into his own account. There were 22 cheques in all.
Hicks made full admissions when arrested in September 2023. He suffered a stroke shortly afterwards and has had significant medical difficulties since, the court heard.
He has no previous convictions and there was no victim impact statement in the case.
Marc Thompson SC, defending, said his client was genuinely remorseful and regretted his involvement. He said Hicks would pay the money back if he could.
He said Hicks did a lot of good work for the school previously and had been asked to assist on the board because of his experience as a bookkeeper.
He said the money was not used to fund a lavish lifestyle but rather to keep his business in Wales afloat.