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Sunday World
10 hours ago
- Sunday World
Former garda who incited men to rape colleague in her home jailed for seven years
'UNSPEAKABLE ACTS' | Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020 Shane Flanagan Shane Flanagan (39), with an address in Co. Clare, impersonated the woman on a fetish website and on Facebook and engaged in graphic online discussions with users of these sites about sexual violence, rape, cannibalism, torture and physical violence. He also shared the woman's personal information including her address, photos of her and her daughters and screenshots from the Strava app, showing her running route. Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He further pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the woman and her daughters between 2018 and 2020, and to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on January 7, 2021. He has no previous convictions. Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court today, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said Flanagan's offending showed a 'breath-taking disregard' for the safety of the injured parties and that he would have been 'more alive to these dangers' due to his background as a garda. She imposed a sentence of eight years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years. Shane Flanagan News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29 The judge said that 'extremely graphic and disturbing' online conversations had been outlined to the court. She said the offending was an 'egregious breach of trust' which betrayed years of friendship and placed the woman and her daughters in physical danger. 'Thankfully no acts of violence took place,' she said. Ms Justice Creedon noted that the offending was 'not a short lapse of judgement', but occurred over a period of several years. She said the offending was 'cold', 'calculated' and 'motivated by satisfying his own sexual interests and gratification'. The judge set a headline sentence of 10 years in relation to the incitement of rape charges, then said the court had considered the mitigation including Flanagan's guilty pleas. She imposed concurrent sentences of six years on the endangerment charges and three years on the charge of possession of child sexual abuse material. Read more Having imposed sentence, Ms Justice Creedon directed Flanagan to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service following his release and she backdated the sentence to June 30 last, when he went into custody. Breffni Gordon BL, defending, told the court that his client has been 'quite distressed' since the last hearing and was recently an inpatient at a psychiatric hospital. He asked the court to recommend his client receive appropriate psychiatric care, particularly during the initial phase of his sentence. Ms Justice Creedon agreed to make this recommendation. The court was previously told that the woman wishes to retain her anonymity, but does not object to Flanagan being identified. Reading her victim impact statement at an earlier sentence hearing, the woman said Flanagan was a fellow garda who was supposed to uphold the same professional values. She said he was someone she had trusted and called a friend. She said he not only betrayed her, but took her career. She said Flanagan 'plotted' to have her and her daughters attacked, and that he 'planned for men to find us and carry out unspeakable acts of violence'. She said this was a 'betrayal beyond words', that she no longer feels safe in her own home and her trust in others has been damaged. She said no sentence could undo the harm caused and told the court this was not just a 'betrayal of friendship' but a 'calculated predatory act of violence that has left lifelong scars' for her and her daughters. Detective Garda Paul English previously told Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, prosecuting, that the woman and Flanagan were friends and there had never been any romantic or sexual history between them. He said the woman was extremely shocked to find out that Flanagan was the one who had been impersonating her online. 'If you gave me a list of 500 names of people that could have done this to me, I would never have guessed it was him,' the woman told the investigation. The court heard that the woman became aware that someone was using her image on a fetish website, after a user of that website contacted her on her genuine Facebook page in 2020. In December 2020, she created an account on Fetlife and, while pretending to be male, interacted with the user pretending to be her who shared her personal information. The woman then made a complaint to gardai. Evidence was heard of an extensive investigation, which connected the Fetlife account impersonating the woman to Flanagan. His home was searched on January 17, 2021, and items included a phone and laptop was seized. Flanagan provided passwords for these devices and for an email address. The investigation found that Flanagan had created a false Facebook account in the name of 'Laura O'Riordan', using the injured party's information. Det Sgt English told the court that hundreds of images of the woman, including 219 doctored ones were found as part of the search. Four images of child sexual abuse material were found on the laptop. Two of the users of who interacted with Flanagan provided statements to gardai. Flanagan incited them to break into the woman's house and rape her. Both genuinely believed they were talking to a woman who had a fetish for 'CNC' or consensual non consent. These situations involve one party, typically female, agreeing for another party to carry out a rape at an agreed location. Ms Lawlor told the court these men believed they were speaking to the woman, who was agreeing to them individually coming to her home to rape her and which she had consented to in advance. Details of these sexually graphic conversations were read to the court. One of these men, who lives in the UK, told gardai that this person must 'really hate' the victim to go to these lengths. In a victim impact statement, the woman's older daughter said Flanagan had been a family friend for a long time and she now looks back on past events wondering if she missed any signs. She said she experienced a loss of trust in others and spoke of the impact of this going on in the background while attending school. She also spoke of experiencing nightmares and noted that her mother had tried to protect them from finding out what had happened for as long as possible. Flanagan was interviewed six times in February 2022. He made some admissions, including to owning the devices. He confirmed knowing the woman and when material was put to him replied 'everything you've shown me there, that was me'. He apologised to the woman and admitted communicating with between 20 and 30 individuals while pretending to be the woman. He described it as 'harmless roleplay'. Det Sgt English agreed with Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, that his client retired from the gardai in March this year and had an 'unblemished' record of service. Testimonials from family members, probation and psychological reports were handed to the court. Mr Dwyer read a letter of apology from his client to the court. Flanagan said he felt 'deep guilt, shame' and understands now that 'I did not just cause fear, I destroyed a sense of fear, dignity and trust' and stole the victims' peace of mind. He said 'this has been a sobering and painful experience for me' and that he is seeking help to address his issues. Defence counsel asked the court to take into account his client's guilty pleas, the contents of the reports and that his time in custody will be more onerous as he was a garda. Flanagan was suspended from the force in 2021, retiring in March this year. Mr Dwyer noted the reports refer to his client suffering with suicidal ideation. His client is assessed at low to medium risk of re-offending. Counsel said a protective factor is 'the absence of hostility to women' and his client's actions appeared 'rooted in imagination or fantasy, not reality', though in this case, the actions 'did translate into more than just a fantasy'. Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He also pleaded guilty to six counts of endangerment, in that he intentionally or recklessly engaged in impersonating the woman in Facebook communications, and on the website and in which communications invited persons unknown to visit violence upon her and two others, thereby creating a substantial risk of death or serious harm on dates between 2018 and 2020. Flanagan also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on January 7, 2021.
The Journal
18 hours ago
- The Journal
Ex-garda jailed for seven years for impersonating colleague online and inciting men to rape her
A FORMER GARDA who impersonated a colleague online and incited men to come to her home and rape her has been jailed for seven years. Shane Flanagan (39), with an address in Co Clare, impersonated the woman on a fetish website and on Facebook and engaged in graphic online discussions with users of these sites about sexual violence, rape, cannibalism, torture and physical violence. He also shared the woman's personal information including her address, photos of her and her daughters and screenshots from the Strava app, showing her running route. Advertisement Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He further pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the woman and her daughters between 2018 and 2020, and to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on 7 January, 2021. He has no previous convictions. Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court today, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said Flanagan's offending showed a 'breath-taking disregard' for the safety of the injured parties and that he would have been 'more alive to these dangers' due to his background as a garda. She imposed a sentence of eight years, with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Sunday World
19 hours ago
- Sunday World
Former garda who incited men to rape woman in her home jailed for seven years
Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020 A former garda who impersonated a colleague online and incited men to come to her home and rape her has been jailed for seven years. Shane Flanagan (39), with an address in Co. Clare, impersonated the woman on a fetish website and on Facebook and engaged in graphic online discussions with users of these sites about sexual violence, rape, cannibalism, torture and physical violence. He also shared the woman's personal information including her address, photos of her and her daughters and screenshots from the Strava app, showing her running route. Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He further pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the woman and her daughters between 2018 and 2020, and to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on January 7, 2021. He has no previous convictions. Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court today, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said Flanagan's offending showed a 'breath-taking disregard' for the safety of the injured parties and that he would have been 'more alive to these dangers' due to his background as a garda. She imposed a sentence of eight years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years. More to follow Shane Flanagan News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29
Irish Examiner
19 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Ex-garda who impersonated colleague and incited men to rape her at her home gets seven years
A former garda who impersonated a colleague online and incited men to come to her home and rape her has been jailed for seven years. Shane Flanagan, aged 39, with an address in Co. Clare, impersonated the woman on a fetish website and on Facebook and engaged in graphic online discussions with users of these sites about sexual violence, rape, cannibalism, torture and physical violence. He also shared the woman's personal information including her address, photos of her and her daughters and screenshots from the Strava app, showing her running route. Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He further pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the woman and her daughters between 2018 and 2020, and to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on January 7, 2021. He has no previous convictions. Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said Flanagan's offending showed a 'breath-taking disregard' for the safety of the injured parties and that he would have been 'more alive to these dangers' due to his background as a garda. She imposed a sentence of eight years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years. Read More 'Betrayal beyond words': Garda impersonated colleague to incite men to rape and kill her
Irish Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ex-garda who incited men to rape colleague in her home is jailed
A former garda who impersonated a colleague online and incited men to come to her home and rape her has been jailed for seven years. Shane Flanagan (39), with an address in Co. Clare, impersonated the woman on a fetish website and on Facebook and engaged in graphic online discussions with users of these sites about sexual violence, rape, cannibalism, torture and physical violence. He also shared the woman's personal information including her address, photos of her and her daughters and screenshots from the Strava app, showing her running route. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He further pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the woman and her daughters between 2018 and 2020, and to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on January 7, 2021. He has no previous convictions. Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court today Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said Flanagan's offending showed a 'breath-taking disregard' for the safety of the injured parties and that he would have been 'more alive to these dangers' due to his background as a garda. She imposed a sentence of eight years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
