The 50-years old father of four who set up the Twist soup kitchen and charity shop in Sligo town has been given suspended five-month prison sentences on each of nine counts of breaches of the charities regulations.
At Sligo District Court this afternoon, Oliver Williams, a Galway native, was ordered not to engage directly or indirectly in any alleged charitable business for two years.
Judge Kevin Kilrane also directed that Williams not apply to register a charity in his own name or indirectly in another person’s name.
The Twist soup kitchen and shop in Sligo are now closed, and Judge Kilrane ordered stock and any monies belonging to them to be handed over to the local St Vincent de Paul Society.
Pointing out that Williams has previous convictions, the Judge said it was important he was ‘stopped in his tracks.’
Outside the courthouse, John Farrelly, CEO of the Charities Regulatory Authority, gave his reaction to the result of what is the first case of its kind under the new Charities Act:
