‘I froze with fear’: Social worker repeatedly threatened by man over care order for young relative

A social worker has said she froze with fear after a man phoned and threatened to kill her because she had been involved in a court case which led to one of his young relatives being taken into care.

“After a long day at work and on my journey home I received several voice messages, the volume of which in close succession led me to conclude that someone may need support or assistance, so I sat in my car before I went home to listen to them,” the woman said.

“I froze with fear as each message played out. When you hear ‘I’m going to end your life’ several times, expressed with such anger, there was a visceral response in my body. My stomach turned, and I froze – possibly an hour passed before I could go in home and greet my family.”

The account was contained in a victim impact statement read out by Judge Mary Dorgan at Cork District Court in the case of 56-year-old man charged with four offences.

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The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child at the centre of the case, was charged with assaulting the woman at Washington Street Courthouse on April 3rd last.

He was also charged that on May 9th last, at a place unknown in Cork city, he made persistent phone calls to the woman without reasonable cause.

In addition, he was charged with two counts of making threats to kill or cause serious harm to the woman on the evening of May 9th last.

Det Garda David Barry, of Fermoy station, who investigated the case, said the accused became angry after the social worker, who was employed by Tusla, was involved in obtaining an order to remove the man’s young relative and put them in care.

He confronted the social worker outside the courthouse and began waving his arms in her face in an angry manner on April 3rd and then just over a month later phoned the woman and left threatening messages.

In the first message, he called the social worker a liar and said he would blow her up, in the second message he said he would take the woman’s life, and in the third he said she had taken something from him and he was now “going to take something” from her.

In the last message he again threatened to kill the woman, saying that “you can do what you want, you can record it, you s**t, but I’m telling you, I am going to take your life”.

Det Garda Barry said gardaí submitted a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions and arrested the man for making threats to kill on May 26th last. The man made full admissions in relation to threatening the social worker and expressed remorse for his actions.

Defence solicitor Daithi Ó Donnabháin said his client had indicated within a fortnight of being charged that he would be pleading guilty. He said that with assistance, because he was not hugely literate, the man had written a letter of apology to the woman for the ordeal he had put her through.

Mr Ó Donnabháin said his client was acting as a parent for the child who was taken into care and was deeply upset over his removal. On the day he phoned the social worker, he had been drinking to the extent that he had no recollection of making the threatening phone calls.

He said that man had issues with alcohol, but he had since engaged with his GP to help him address his problem. He said the man now realized the enormity of what was facing him as a result of his offending behaviour, added Mr Ó Donnabháin.

The man addressed Judge Dorgan and said he deeply regretted his actions. “I am so sorry, I can’t believe that I did this. I was never in trouble before and I have never done anything like this before, it was the alcohol,” he said.

Judge Dorgan said she took a very serious view of the matter, particularly after reading the social worker’s victim impact statement, which she described as “compelling and generous to the accused”. She noted that the threats had caused the woman to re-evaluate her work as such events can shake “you to your core”.

She said it was such a serious matter that she could not proceed without a probation report on the accused. The man indicated that he would be happy to engage with the probation services and the matter was adjourned until March 13th next.

Judge Dorgan also secured a promise from the accused to stay away from the social worker and have no contact with her or anybody in Tusla.