A secondary school teacher who sent an anonymous letter falsely allegedly that a male teaching colleague was a child abuser has escaped jail.
At Ennis District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett imposed a suspended two month prison sentence on the married 42 year old father of three young children.
The victim of two false letters sent by the Co Clare accused man in the case said in a victim impact statement that his life was made “a living nightmare” by the “fictitious allegations” made up by his colleague.
Judge Gabbett said: “The nature of this crime is that when you have a problem with somebody you send in an anonymous letter saying that they are a child abuser.”
He said: “This could have had career changing implications for the victim and I have to be mindful of that. I have to mark the seriousness of the events that took place.”
Solicitor, Daragh Hassett for the accused admitted that what his client did was harassment of a “vile” nature but his client wasn’t a well man at the time the letters were sent.
Mr Hassett said that what happens in the District Court “isn’t the end of it” for his client as the victim in the case has issued personal injury proceedings against his client.
Mr Hassett said that his client is also facing disciplinary proceedings from the Teaching Council as a result of his actions.
Mr Hassett said: “He can be censored, admonished or suspended but he will go before them and fall on his sword.”
In the case, the accused sent two two anonymous hand-written letters to the Gardai and their School Principal.
Det Garda Joe Cusack of Henry Street Garda Station, Limerick told the court that the letters purporting to be students from an all-girls school made reference to a named teacher, “alleging that he was looking at inappropriate content, including pictures of naked women on his phone while teaching in the classroom”.
In the case, father of three has pleaded guilty to sending a grossly offensive communication to another person with intent to cause harm when sending a letter to Henry Street Garda Station on March 30th 2022 and when sending a second letter on May 25th 2022 to the Limerick school.
Both charges are contrary to Section 4 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020.
Det Garda Cusack said that he was able to identify the accused from CCTV at a local post office when he sent one of the letters from.
Judge Gabbett praised the “incredible detective work” that resulted in the accused being identified as the letter sender.
Mr Hassett asked Judge Gabbett not to convict his client and Judge Gabbett said: “That is a big ask,” and Mr Hassett agreed saying ‘“it is a big ask”.
Mr Hassett said that as a result of his client’s actions in sending the letters, his client left his teaching post by consent “with an otherwise glowing reference from the principal” to take up a new teaching post in another school.
Mr Hassett said that arising from this case and the ensuing publicity, his client in his new job was eventually disciplined “and it came as a surprise and a shock to him that he lost the previous support of this new principal and now that job is gone”
Mr Hassett said that his client is now working in a different industry to support his family.
Mr Hassett said that his client “made a mistake, has paid for it dearly and lives with it every day. He hopes that the Teaching Council will allow him continue his calling to be a teacher”.
Mr Hassett said the Garda prosecution along with the Teaching Council disciplinary process “is a natural consequence of what he did and what he did was particularly ill judged, stupid and nasty”.
Mr Hassett said his client pleaded guilty, has no previous convictions, has paid €5,000 compensation to the victim and has undergone medical treatment and counselling.
He said: “This man wasn’t well – he is on medication – he was never on medication before. He is taking anxiety and depression tablets and tablets that allow him to sleep at night.”
Mr Hassett said that his client is a published author “very well regarded, a well known and liked man in his local area”.
Mr Hassett said that the manner in which his client sent the anonymous letters “was the work of someone who doesn’t have a criminal mind”.
He said: “If he was more savvy, he wouldn’t have physically walked into a post office himself.”
Judge Gabbett described the number of testimonials handed into court on behalf of the accused “as slightly overkill”.
Judge Gabbett said that he had received more than 20 and Mr Hassett said that he had another 20 that he didn’t hand in.
Mr Hassett said: “It is a mark of a man that in times of trouble that a large number of people are prepared to put their name on a piece of paper in support which isn’t that common these days.”
Mr Hassett said that his client “has been humiliated locally – everyone knows about the case”.
In reply, Judge Gabbett said: “The victim has been humiliated here – being brought into work and accused of child sex abuse is also humiliating.”
Mr Hassett said that “everyone knows there was nothing to it (the false allegations) and my client had to leave his then place of work for obvious reasons”.
Mr Hassett said that the context for sending the letters was that his client was “taunted and tormented” in the workplace.
Mr Hassett said that the Probation Report on his client concluded that there was very little, if any risk, of his client re-offending.
Judge Gabbett fixed recognisance in the event of an appeal to the Circuit Court.
Judge Gabbett ordered that the accused not be identified in order to protect the identity of the injured party.
