A man who threatened to post intimate images of his former partner on Facebook and send them to her mother has been jailed.
The 45-year-old, who cannot be named to protect the anonymity of his victim, pleaded guilty to threatening to publish or distribute an intimate image with intent to cause harm on a date in December 2021. The maximum sentence for this charge is seven years.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the man and woman were in a brief relationship, which she ended in November 2021.
The victim, who was aged in her 20s, knew the man had a number of intimate images and videos of her in his possession.
A few weeks after the break-up, on December 8th, 2021, the man sent the woman a series of voice recordings on Snapchat in which he threatened to send the material to people she knew, including her mother and social worker. He also threatened to post the images on Facebook, the court heard.
An investigating garda told prosecuting counsel that the woman immediately went to a Garda station to make a complaint. Gardaí located the man a short time later in a Dublin pub.
When interviewed by gardaí, the man said he was annoyed and had been drinking. He also apologised for his actions.
A victim impact statement was submitted to the court, but not read aloud.
He certainly didn’t cover himself in glory in relation to his actions on that morning
After hearing the facts of the case on Tuesday, Judge Martin Nolan described it as a “serious matter”.
“To threaten a person in this way is very disconcerting,” the judge said. “People are entitled to their privacy, it's as simple as that.”
Having considered the mitigation and the man's personal circumstances, Judge Nolan said the man's remorse appeared to be genuine, but added that he deserved a custodial sentence.
He handed the man a prison sentence of 20 months, with the final 10 months suspended to incentivise his rehabilitation.
“But for the way he dealt with the matter when confronted, it would be considerable longer,” the judge added.
The man has 10 previous convictions, including public order, road traffic and criminal damage offences.
The garda agreed with Gerardine Small SC, prosecuting, that the relationship between the parties was quite brief, and the guilty plea was of value to the prosecution.
It was further accepted that when interviewed the man said he was “saying the wrong things” and had been drinking.
The garda also agreed that the Snapchat recording in which he made the threats was not available.
Ms Small said her client wished to apologise and accepts responsibility for his actions.
“He certainly didn’t cover himself in glory in relation to his actions on that morning”, counsel said, adding that the man had “committed a most unsavoury crime”.
She asked the court to take into consideration his immediate expressions of remorse.
A number of documents were handed to the court. The man has a good work history, counsel said, but his alcohol and drug addiction issues “got the better of him”, adding the man was homeless for a number of years.
Ms Small outlined her client's personal circumstances, including a history of mental health issues and psychiatric in-patient treatment.
The man is engaging with services and hopes to get a place on a course run by the Anna Livia project.
