Man who left threatening messages on ex-partner’s phone after calling her thousands of times from prison is sentenced

A Dublin man who left threatening messages on his ex-partner’s phone after calling her more than 3,800 times from prison has been handed a three-year sentence.

Martin Cunningham (28), of Warrenstown Drive, Mulhuddart, pleaded guilty to one count of harassment on dates between January 1st, 2021, and March 30th, 2021, and one count of making threats to kill or cause serious harm on dates between March 17th, 2021, and March 30th, 2021.

Imposing sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday, Judge Orla Crowe said Cunningham had engaged in a “callous, calculating, cruel and sustained” course of harassment against his former partner. This took place at a time when the defendant was in custody and should not have had a phone.

She handed Cunningham a 3½ year prison sentence, backdated to August 10th, 2021. Judge Crowe suspended the final six months of the sentence for two years on strict conditions, including that Cunningham places himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for one-year post-release.

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The court heard that the woman was in a bedroom and heard a noise coming from outside. When she looked out, she saw a man smashing the windows of her mother’s car with a metal bar. The woman was of the belief that Cunningham, her ex-partner who was currently in custody in Mountjoy Prison, was behind the offence.

Garda Quin Hanley told Simon Matthews, BL, prosecuting, that the woman told him that, in January 2021, she had set her phone to block any calls coming from private or blocked numbers. If someone called from a private or blocked number, the phone would not ring but would show it as a missed call.

Garda Hanley said the woman woke up on January 1st, 2021, to 176 missed calls and one voicemail. The voicemail was from Cunningham, who was in prison. On a second occasion, she woke to find 13 missed calls and a voicemail. Between January 30th and January 31st, 2021, she received a further 150 missed calls.

The court heard that on March 16th, 2021, the woman received 161 missed calls and a voicemail which said, “I’m getting sick of you making a fool out of me. You better start answering your phone”.

On March 19th, 2021, the woman received 323 missed calls and four voicemails. Cunningham said in the voicemails that “you have 10 minutes to answer your phone, or it’s your sister’s house”. He also said, “I swear to god, I’m getting you”.

The woman changed her phone number on March 25th, 2021, and several days later received a call to her place of work stating that “if she is still working there by Friday, there will be a car going through the shop window”.

Garda Hanley said that between January 1st, 2021, and March 13th, 2021, the accused made 32 legitimate phone calls using the phone system in Mountjoy Prison. The gardaí analysed cell data to show that the remaining calls had pinged from three cell towers in the Mountjoy area.

The gardaí issued a warrant and Cunningham was arrested in prison. During an interview, he did not accept any responsibility for the missed calls or voicemails.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said: “I know now it is not normal to be threatened day after day...I thought my life was over, and I thought he was going to kill me”.

Garda Hanley agreed with Oisin Clarke, BL, defending, that the calls occurred over a short period of time and that the guilty pleas offered by his client were of assistance to the gardaí. He said the accused was in prison when Covid-19 restrictions came into force and his mental health began to suffer.

Judge Crowe said Cunningham’s letter of apology to the woman contained a degree of victim-blaming which “causes some concern” to the court. She said Cunningham’s actions were about controlling his former partner.