A District Court judge has been convicted of deceiving a pensioner into leaving half his estate to her 2 children.
60-year-old Heather Perrin of Lambay Court, Malahide in Dublin has been remanded on bail for sentencing on Wednesday of next week.
The unanimous verdict of the jury came after nearly 4 hours deliberations.
She first looked shocked by the verdict and then came the tears as her husband Albert comforted her.
The jury heard while running a solicitor practice in January 2009 she acted as executor of a will for an old family friend Thomas Davis.
Will remain a Judge
He wanted to leave his €1 million assets to his 2 nieces but did not read over the will before signing it and could not believe it when months later he found out the children of Heather Perrin stood to inherit half of his estate.
She first said her secretary made a mistake but later told gardai she had acted on the instructions of Mr. Davis as he had expressed concern about his nieces squandering money.
She will be sentenced next week with the maximum penalty for deception being 5 years.
However unless she resigns she will remain a Judge as she can only be removed from her post by a joint resolution adopted by both Houses of the Oireachtas.
