Newport man ordered to pay $1.2 million
Deepa Bharath
A Superior Court Judge on July 11 ordered the son of a former
top-ranking British official to pay $1.2 million for stalking and
threatening the boyfriend of a woman who spurned his advances.
But the plaintiffs may have to meander their way through the
British judicial system to actually get the money, their attorney
Daryl Dworakowski said on Monday.
Alastair Irvine, the 26-year-old son of Great Britain’s former
Lord Chancellor Alexander Derry Irvine, who resigned last month after
crossing swords with Prime Minister Tony Blair over a political
issue, had pleaded guilty to five felony charges -- vandalism,
stalking, burglary, two counts of making threats and one misdemeanor
count of possessing a concealed firearm. He will be deported soon
after he serves the sentence.
Irvine, an avid bodybuilder who lived in Newport Beach, was
arrested in June 2002 on suspicion of vandalism, stalking and
brandishing a weapon.
The charges against Irvine stemmed from various incidents starting
in March 2002, when Irvine began pursuing a 19-year-old woman who
worked at a tanning salon in Costa Mesa.
The woman rejected Irvine’s advances, saying she was already
seeing Karel Taska, who worked with her at Newport Tanning Club.
Irvine then walked into the salon with a concealed weapon and
threatened Taska with bodily harm. He also threw acid on Taska’s car.
Taska and his parents, Karel and Kathy Taska, filed the civil
lawsuit because “they were terrorized” by Irvine, said Dworakowski.
“They’re pleased with the judgment,” he said. “They’ll be happier
if it’s effective.”
So far, there has been no response from Irvine or his family,
Dworakowski said.
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