A MODERN-DAY Fagin was jailed for six years at St Albans Crown Court after pleading guilty to a string of distraction burglaries across the Home Counties.

Irishman Martin Cawley, 46, was sentenced with accomplice Sarah McDonagh, 19, both from Luton.

McDonagh also admitted charges of conspiracy to burgle and was sent to a young offenders institution for three-and-a half years.

Cawley was described in court as the organiser and sergeant of a group of young girls who targeted the homes of the elderly and the infirm.

He picked the young girls because they were pretty and innocent looking.

In five months the gang moved through St Albans, Redbourn, Watford and into London, Essex and Bedfordshire, stealing more than £2,000.

The victims were distracted while other members of the gang searched the house for valuables and cash.

Prosecuting counsel Mr Gopal Hooper outlined the gang's modus operandi in court last Thursday.

He told how one member would knock on the door of a house and ask to leave a note for a neighbour.

To gain more time for whoever was creeping around the house they would also ask for a glass of water.

Once the gang had left, the elderly victim would often discover ransacked rooms and cash and bankcards stolen.

The gang struck in a series of offences between November last year and April this year with Cawley acting as the getaway driver.

The court heard how an intricate three-month police operation organised by Hertfordshire Constabulary's elite Central Detective Unit eventually led to the couple's arrest.

McDonagh's DNA was found on one of the glasses she sipped from while her fingerprints were also obtained from a glass.

On one occasion while under observation from the police, Mr Hooper described how Cawley shouted at the young girls when they returned to his car empty-handed and ordered them to go back.

Judge Seddon Cripps described Cawley as the "organiser leading raiding parties" against elderly and vulnerable people.

He said the offences were "mean and nasty".

As the six-year sentence was read out there were dramatic scenes in the public gallery and two people were removed by court security.

Sentencing McDonagh the judge told her: "I give you credit for your guilty plea but I have to harden my heart.

"You targeted the old and the infirm again and again and again and I have no option but to impose a custodial sentence."

Investigating officer Detective Constable Stephen Piggott said: "We have evidence that Cawley used young persons in order to carry out distraction burglaries on elderly, vulnerable victims.

"He has committed callous offences.

"I get some professional satisfaction from seeing him convicted and sentenced."

October 1, 2002 18:30