Sunday 1 November 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 21783Harassment; making demands with menaces (extortion) · Co. Dublin

Man sentenced to five years for extortion in north Dublin

John Buckley, known as Maughan, a man aged 28, pleaded guilty to 94 charges of harassment and making demands with menaces after extorting over €14,000 from four victims in north County Dublin between January 2017 and August 2018. He threatened the victims with social media exposure, including telling a man in his 60s that his family would learn he was a paedophile and sending intimate pictures to a 24-year-old woman's boyfriend, with all money transferred to his Boyle Sports gambling account. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to concurrent terms totalling five years in March 2023 and ordered him to have no contact with the injured parties for 20 years. Maughan has five previous convictions and a gambling and drug addiction.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced24 Mar
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
  • Maughan extorted over €14,000 from four victims, all transferred to his Boyle Sports gambling account.
  • Maughan threatened a man in his 60s that he would tell his family the man was a paedophile.
  • The son of the first victim received 14 threatening social media messages and a demand for €650.
  • Maughan threatened a 24-year-old woman he would send intimate pictures and chat screenshots to her boyfriend and extorted €2,000 from her.
Where
The offences took place at various locations in north County Dublin.
When
The offences occurred between January 2017 and August 2018.
Charges
Maughan pleaded guilty to 94 charges including four of harassment and the remainder of making demands with menaces.
Sentence
  • Judge Martin Nolan imposed concurrent sentences totalling five years.
  • Maughan was ordered to have no contact with the injured parties for 20 years.
Other details
  • Maughan has five previous convictions including theft and failing to appear.
  • Maughan has a gambling addiction and is also addicted to controlled drugs.
  • Maughan has two children, one of whom suffers from severe autism.
15 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatMaughan extorted over €14,000 from the victims, all transferred to his Boyle Sports gambling account (thejournal.ie)
  • whatMaughan threatened a man in his 60s that he would tell his family the man was a paedophile (thejournal.ie)
  • whatThe son of the first victim received 14 threatening social media messages and a demand for €650 (thejournal.ie)
  • whatMaughan threatened a 24-year-old woman he would send intimate pictures and chat screenshots to her boyfriend (thejournal.ie)
  • whatMaughan extorted €2,000 from the 24-year-old woman (thejournal.ie)
  • whatThe 24-year-old woman received 150 Facebook messages from Maughan looking for money (thejournal.ie)
  • whereThe offences took place at various locations in north County Dublin (thejournal.ie)
  • whenThe offences occurred between January 2017 and August 2018 (thejournal.ie)
  • chargeMaughan pleaded guilty to 94 charges including four of harassment and the remainder of making demands with menaces (thejournal.ie)
  • sentenceJudge Martin Nolan imposed concurrent sentences totalling five years (thejournal.ie)
  • sentenceMaughan was ordered to have no contact with the injured parties for 20 years (thejournal.ie)
  • otherMaughan has five previous convictions including theft and failing to appear (thejournal.ie)
  • otherMaughan has a gambling addiction and is also addicted to controlled drugs (thejournal.ie)
  • otherMaughan has two children, one of whom suffers from severe autism (thejournal.ie)
  • otherAs a child Maughan was a promising footballer offered a place in a UK professional football academy (thejournal.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 24 Mar2023
    Sentencedthejournal.ie, first report
    Gambling addict who extorted money through social media 'exposure' threats is jailed

    Sentencing report: Maughan received concurrent five-year sentences and a 20-year no-contact order after pleading guilty to 94 charges. Details of the four victims' experiences and the judge's remarks are provided.

    convicted, John Buckley AKA Maughan, 28, male, named, irish (judged from name)John Buckley AKA Maughanvictim, 60s, malevictim, femalevictim, malevictim, 24, female