A WOMAN involved in a trade of schoolboy Noah Donohoe’s laptop for money to buy drugs has avoided a prison sentence.
Maria Nolan received a three-month suspended sentence for having the computer stored at her hostel while police and members of the community searched for Noah across the city of Belfast.
She had been convicted of handling stolen goods, ITV reports.
In January last year Daryl Paul, 35, was jailed for stealing a rucksack containing the laptop and school books belonging to 14-year-old Noah.
However, judge Anne Marshall differentiated between the two co-accused, and noted how Mr Paul’s record was much worse than Ms Nolan’s.
Noah was found dead in a north Belfast storm drain in June 2020, nearly a week after he went missing.
Paul had taken Noah’s bag and its contents home with him after discovering them on the same day he went missing. Day later, he entered a Cash Converters in the city with Nolan to attempt to sell the laptop.
Neither Paul nor Nolan are suspected of having any direct contact with the teenager.
At a sentencing hearing today defense barrister Sean O’Hare indicated that Nolan intends to continue living outside Belfast.
Mr O’Hare told the court she has been subjected to “very unfair comments on social media” since her conviction.
Suspending the prison term for 18 months, Judge Marshall warned of the consequences of any further offending.
She told Nolan: “It is hanging over your head for the next year and a half; three months in custody if you get into any new trouble.”
