Bench warrant executed on Donegal man charged with exposing genitals

A man who failed to show up for a court appearance in Donegal after being charged with exposing his genitals was arrested this week.

William Friel was arrested on foot of a bench warrant and brought before Thursday’s sitting of Letterkenny District Court.

Friel, a 32-year-old with an address at Gallagher’s Flats, Quay Road, Dungloe, failed to appear for a previous court hearing.

Friel was charged with exposing his genitals at Muckish Avenue, Letterkenny, on December 6, 2019.

The accused was also charged with three counts of breaching a domestic violence order in January 2021, February 2022 and March 2022.

Solicitor for Friel, Mr Frank Dorrian, said his client lives a ‘chaotic lifestyle’.

“He has a very unusual difficulty in that he seems to start every morning with an absolutely clean pallet,” Mr Dorrian told the court. “He finds it difficult to keep any sort of appointment.”

Mr Dorrian said he had been writing down Friel’s appointments for a period to assist his client. 

Mr Dorrian advised the court that the charge in question was now ‘gone’, but this did not affect the validity of the warrant. 

Judge Éiteáin Cunningham adjourned the case until October 9, 2023. Mr Dorrian asked that anything regarding his client be ‘unscrambled’ and dealt with on the next occasion.