A MAN WITH decades of service as a garda has been sentenced to two years in prison for sexually assaulting his former partner’s two young daughters.
The crimes happened when he went into the bedrooms of the children at night and assaulted them as they were sleeping.
In a powerful victim impact statement, the mother of the two children described how her former partner had “made out gardaí were on his side” after the revelations emerged.
“He sent me screenshots of what his colleagues were saying about me, that I shouldn’t have reported it – these were members of An Garda Síochána,” the woman told the court during the sentencing yesterday.
The Circuit Criminal Court heard that the family now find themselves “nervous and anxious” at the sight of gardaí.
The man retired from his job as a garda as the case went through the courts, which his defence counsel said was an “acknowledgment” that he knew his time in the job was coming to an end given the serious court charges.
The two offences dated back to nights on August and December last year. Both of the girls were pre-teens.
Although he initially denied that the assaults took place as described – claiming he was trying to help the children relax before sleep – the man later admitted to the offences.
He submitted signed guilty pleas to the courts which was noted by the judge as being of “huge value” as it allowed the case to proceed quickly through the courts.
The court ordered a reporting restriction on any identifying details in order to preserve the right to anonymity for the victims.
The court heard the man went into the girls’ bedrooms at night, rubbing their backs and backsides while kissing their arms and putting his hands beneath their clothes.
The older girl recounted being terrified as it was happening, and pretended she was waking up in the hope that it would stop the man from going further. She messaged her mother that night, and her mother saw the message in the morning.
The judge said the man had acted “negligently, recklessly and intentionally” in his assaults of the children in their own home.
After reporting the abuse to gardaí, the mother of the girls told the court that it “killed her” to have to take her daughters to specialist units, recalling holding the hand of one of her children as experts “examined the most intimate parts” of her body.
In her statement, she described how her former partner had come into their lives as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, seriously harming her family’s trust as a result of his predatory actions.
She said she would “never ever forget” the look on her daughter’s face as she told her of what had happened. She said her child “looked so small” as she told her that she didn’t want to “ruin her [mother's] happiness” by revealing what took place.
The woman said she frequently blames herself for what happened. “I feel ashamed of people finding out what happened here,” she said.
She said that she was “very angry” at her former partner, as “he knew what he was doing was wrong and should have left my home if he was having these sick thoughts.”
The court had heard that the man had visited a psychiatrist to discuss the thoughts he was having, prior to authorities being contacted.
The mother of the girls recalled notifying the child and family agency Tusla about the allegations. “I asked them if my kids would be taken away from me and they said ‘It’s too early to tell’. I was terrified.”
The woman described how the garda had continued contacting her family after the allegations emerged.
She said he had tried messaging her on a social media site, where, she said, he set up a fake account to continue attempts to stay in touch with her even after the abuse emerged.
The court heard that a relative of the man had also texted her to call one of her daughters a “slut” after the allegations were made.
One of her daughters became “extremely upset when he followed her on TikTok”. The girl took a screenshot of the page and the guards were contacted, while her friends at school said they had noticed the man had viewed their own profiles.
“This was done by a person she loved, she adored and thought loved her too,” the mother told the court, adding that it was “done by someone who promised to mind her”.
She said she had tried to take her relationship “slowly” with the man when it began. This involved gradually bringing him into her home and getting to know her children.
She said she was conscious her children were vulnerable, pointing to help they were receiving from a charity.
On her former partner becoming a key part of their lives, the woman said her children “took to him very quickly”, recalling that he “never shouted at us and never got angry” in their home.
This meant the resulting abuse was all the more devastating. She and her children now get “nervous and anxious” with each new contact with gardaí.
In her statement read aloud in court, the mother of the girls outlined the “pain and hurt” caused by the man’s actions.
“This was done by someone [they] trusted and looked up to,” she said.
She said the revelations about her partner caused a rift in their home, as one daughter pleaded with her mother to let the man stay.
Her younger daughter deals with paranoia, with her mother describing how she needs to search through the house to calm her if they realise they have left a bedroom window open while away.
The woman said she “keeps finding knives” in her daughter’s room – one daughter has explained this as being her sister’s way to “protect us”.
While one of the victims had previously been involved in sport, she was now reluctant to take part because she’s “afraid men will be looking at her body”.
“She says she wants herself covered,” her mother said.
The girl has wanted to tell her friends about what happened, but only tells adults because she doesn’t believe children should ever know about the things that took place.
In mitigation, the court heard that the man had an “unblemished career” as a garda and no previous convictions. It also heard that the man had a difficult upbringing.
Defence counsel David Staunton said the man had not told a number of his own close relations about the abuse case, which he said was due to a fear it may have a detrimental impact on their health.
The court heard that the man had retired from the force, as Staunton explained that he knew his “career was at an end” given the upcoming sentencing. The barrister said this allowed the garda to “organise his affairs” so that he would leave the force in a structured way as opposed to a sudden departure.
The judge said the man had taken significant steps over the past year to address his thoughts, attending 11 psychotherapeutic sessions as part of this. A number of medical reports on behalf of the man recommended that he continue to attend on a regular basis so as to “manage and find a deeper understanding of the pathways to offending”.
The judge imposed a two and a half year sentence with the final six months suspended, pending the man maintaining regular psychiatric help. He must also stay away from his victims and their family.
Turning to the mother of the two victims, the judge said he hoped that they come out the far end unscathed ultimately. “There’s nothing to be embarrased about, they’ve done nothing wrong,” he said, telling their mother that the family should “embrace all the help that you can get and move on.”
In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for An Garda Siochána said that the force does not directly comment on cases involving former gardaí as they are now private citizens but added: “An Garda Siochána notes the conviction and sentence imposed.”
The spokesperson highlighted previous comments by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris who told gardaí graduating from the Garda College earlier this year that they had a duty to “maintain the highest standards” and “to serve the people of Ireland”.
“It is what the public expect and deserve, and what I expect too,” he said.
“The overwhelming majority of the over 14,100 members of An Garda Siochána are honest, professional and trustworthy,” the spokesperson said.
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