A JUDGE HAS granted a three year Safety Order to a woman against her ‘very controlling’ ex-boyfriend after hearing that the man took two intimate videos of her without her knowledge or consent during their relationship.

Making the Safety Order application on behalf of her client at the Family Law Court, solicitor, Shiofra Hassett told Judge Alec Gabbett that there were two instances of the man videoing her client “at intimate moments” without her consent or knowledge.

In the first instant on a date in 2019, the woman in evidence said that she was unaware that her then boyfriend had taken an intimate video.

The woman had been staying overnight at her boyfriend’s house and she said she only became aware of the video “when he sent me the video on WhatsApp when I got home”.

The woman said that she asked her boyfriend to delete the video but he refused saying that it was just for him.

In relation to the second incident, the woman said that earlier this year, “I was sleeping over at his house. I woke up and he was touching me down below and with his other hand he was recording on his phone”.

The woman said that she tried to leave her boy-friend’s house that night in her car but was unable to as her boyfriend had control of the property’s electric gates.

Ms Hassett told Judge Gabbett that her client was forced to sleep in her car that night.

Ms Hassett said that throughout the relationship the man was “very controlling” and the woman said “I wasn’t allowed to have anything for myself away from the relationship with this man”.

Ms Hassett said that after the woman ended the relationship, her client’s ex-boyfriend continued to contact her.

The woman told the court that she had Gardai sent to the man’s home twice in an effort to stop his contact but he persisted.

The woman said that she had had the man blocked from all of her devices and kept checking her email “out of fear” before obtaining a temporary Protection Order (PO) against the man a number of months ago.

The PO allowed Gardai to arrest the man without warrant if there was a breach of the PO and the woman said “in the last few months, I am only getting my own life back now and trying to decompress a little bit”.

Judge Gabbett said that he was happy to grant the Safety Order. He said that the issue of the intimate videos was a “concern” and said there are criminal sanctions in place if the man was to distribute any of the material.

The Safety Order now grants the Gardai the same powers of arrest without warrant for the next three years if there is a breach of the SO.

The man was notified of the Safety Order application but didn’t appear in court to contest it.

The Safety Order prohibits the man from watching or being near the woman’s home or following or communicating, including electronically with her along with prohibiting acts of violence or threats of violence.