Man jailed for 18 months for subjecting garda to harassment involving false reports of sexual abuse

A 29-year-old man has been jailed for 18 months for subjecting a serving garda to months of harassment, involving making false reports of sexual assault against him to the An Garda Síochána Ombudsman, the Garda Commissioner, the Minister for Justice and the Taoiseach.

Derek O’Mahony of Meadowlands, Bloomfield, Midleton, Co Cork pleaded guilty on Wednesday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to harassment of the officer on various dates between October 2020 and April 2022, contrary to section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.

*Insp Roisin O’Dea said the harassment began when the garda encountered O’Mahony in October 2020 and carried out a routine drugs search. “Derek O’Mahony then made a vexatious report that the member of An Garda Síochána sexually assaulted him during the drugs search,” she said.

There were constant phone calls to the garda station by O’Mahony, labelling the officer as a sex offender and a corrupt policeman and he also made complaints to An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, the Garda Commissioner, the Minister for Justice and the Taoiseach.

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The garda received a handwritten letter from O’Mahony in March 2021 in which he apologised for his actions since October 2020 and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission later notified the officer that the complaint by O’Mahony was no longer being investigated by them.

But soon after this O’Mahony began making phone calls to the Garda station again, making the same vexatious, false allegations and as recently as April 29th last, the garda woke to an Instagram notification and there followed 51 messages from O’Mahony in 15 minutes, she said.

“He [O’Mahony] accused him of sexually assaulting people and causing many young people to die by suicide. He received 13 more messages through Facebook messenger with a similar theme,” Insp O’Dea told the court.

O’Mahony also sent the garda photographs of his (the officer’s) children focusing on their groin area with disturbing messages and emojis, causing huge distress to the officer and his family and he also made direct Facebook contact with the garda’s wife and two of his sisters, again causing deep upset.

It was established that the accused was living outside the jurisdiction and on August 8th this year, he was arrested boarding a plane at Cork Airport. When interviewed he was remorseful and made full admissions to sending the messages, the court heard.

Defence barrister, Niamh Stewart put it to Insp O’Dea that her client had sent a letter of apology to the victim at an early stage in the harassment. Insp O’Dea confirmed that he had done so but added: “He then continued to redo a barrage of harassment.”

Ms Stewart called O’Mahony to give evidence which consisted mainly of the accused apologising for his 18-month-long campaign of harassment against the garda, which he acknowledged had caused huge upset to the office and his wife as well as other family members.

“I was not taking my medication at the time. I tried to commit suicide on two occasions. I just want to say I am sincerely sorry for the messages I sent. There is no excuse for it. I am sorry and disgusted,” said O’Mahony.

“I don’t know what I was thinking, to be honest. I also want to apologise to his sisters and his wife. I sincerely apologise for the distress and hurt caused by the messages I sent to you and your family ... I guarantee you will have no issues from me in the future.”

The Garda did make a victim impact statement but requested that it be read in private by Judge Helen Boyle who said she did not believe she was breaking a confidence to say he had been afraid that he would lose his job while the harassment had also caused huge distress to his wife and sisters.

She said the most serious aspect of O’Mahony’s campaign of harassment was his decision to involve the officer’s children by sending photographs of them to the officer, who was also deeply distressed by O’Mahony’s accusation that he caused people to die by suicide.

Judge Boyle imposed a sentence of two years with the last six months suspended and she ordered O’Mahony to stay away from the injured party, not go within 100 metres of his home and not to communicate with or about him at any time in the next ten years.

*Article amended at 6am on November 28th, 2022