The residents of Peterhead, Scotland may finally have some peace and quiet now that the man the sheriff called “the oldest raver in town” has been sentenced to serve six months in jail.
57-year-old Michael O’Rourke happens to be a huge fan of classic country music, so much in fact that he likes to play it at any time of day, or night. But O’Rourke isn’t the easy listening type. Instead, he likes to crank up his Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash so loud that it bothers neighbors when they’re trying to sleep at night.
O’Rourke was once issued an anti-social behavior order, also known as an ASBO, which is a civil order meant to control disturbances such as playing music too loud. A court found that O’Rourke had violated the order a total of six times since April 2015.
Up until now, O’Rourke had managed to avoid jail time, and court officers even went so far as to seize his stereo to prevent him from playing his music any more. But their efforts were of no avail, because O’Rourke went out and bought a CD player and continued to blare his music.
Sheriff Andrew Miller said that at this point, they had no other choice but to send O’Rourke to jail so he can hopefully learn his lesson:
“I’m told about the various steps you feel you have taken to address this issue, but the one that you have failed to do is to simply stop playing your music,” Miller said. “Every other possible sentence and disposal has been tried. You have been given the opportunity to pay fines and carry out work in the community, but none of that has appeared to have had any effect on your behavior. Imprisonment is very much a last resort. That, unfortunately, is the case today. I can’t let this situation continue.”
Apparently this isn’t the only time O’Rourke has been in trouble with the law. He reportedly has a history of fighting with his neighbors and was once thrown out of a bingo hall when he yelled “house” too loud.
Part of the reason why O’Rourke plays his music at such a high volume could be attributed to the fact that he is partially deaf. His defense lawyer, Stewart Flowerdew, once told the court that his client’s behavior was the result of issues with alcohol.
No matter why O’Rourke was blaring his classic country late at night, his neighbors are not upset to see him go, with 78-year-old Henrietta Thain saying she hopes O’Rourke’s time in jail will “knock some sense” into him.
