Garda Daithi King said 'nasty' fake comments made by Jason Downes, that left his wife 'nervous and scared' are still mentioned to him nearly five years later
A Garda has told a court that a west Clare man “acted like a coward and concocted lies about me” on a fake Facebook account. At Ennis Circuit Court on Wednesday, Garda David King said that Jason Downes, 31, "had no regard for his actions and the effect they could potentially have”.
Garda King made his comments in a victim impact statement on Wednesday at the sentencing hearing of Mr Downes. In the case, a jury last November returned a majority 10-2 guilty verdict where Mr Downes, of St Michael’s Place Kilmihil, Co Clare, was accused of harassing Garda King by persistently communicating with him on dates between June 6 and June 16 2020 and thereby causing him alarm and distress contrary to Section 10 of Non Fatal Offences Against The Person Act. In his victim impact statement, Garda King told the court that he has worked in the west Clare area since 2017 and he built up good working relationships with people from all areas of the community. He said: “This incident meant that people in the community have lost trust in a member of An Garda Síochána they would previously have turned to in a time of need. Garda King said: “After this incident I had to start again to build up a good reputation in the community I serve. Despite this, the comments made in these Facebook posts are still mentioned to me by some members of the public on a regular basis to this day.” Garda King said that Jason Downes continues to work as a delivery driver in the area. He said: “He knows where I live and I pass him on the road on almost a regular basis.” Garda King said that after he had deleted his social media accounts in 2020, Mr Downes then contacted his wife via Facebook messenger making false allegations about him. He said: “If it were not for the strong relationship and deep trust I share with my wife, these allegations could have had a serious effect on our marriage.” In court, counsel for Mr Downes, Patrick Whyms BL read out a written apology from Mr Downes to Garda King and his wife, primary school teacher, Ciara Bohan. Mr Downes said that he wanted to apologise to Garda King and to Ciara Bohan “for upsetting them and causing them pain and stress caused by this situation”. Mr Downes said that he accepted the jury’s guilty verdict and said: “I made wrong choices.” Father of four children aged two to 10, Mr Downes said that at the time, he lost his job, struggled with addiction “and I was selfish”. Asked about the apology, Garda King told the court: “He has had five years to apologise.” In evidence in the trial last November, Ciara Bohan told the jury how she was left ‘nervous and scared' over “nasty” comments made about her husband from the anonymous Facebook account. Ms Bohan said that she was left "upset and vulnerable" over the anonymous Facebook messenger messages she received about her husband, Garda King, in June 2020. Ms Bohan was seven months' pregnant at the time and also had a toddler at home when she received messages from a Facebook profile with the name Tommy Teirnan, spelt wrong. In one message received on her own Facebook account on June 16 2020, it said ‘tell your husband he is only a shitty arse coward. I will find out more about him and when I do, he will be very sorry'. Ms Bohan said that her husband is well respected amongst his peers and “then to receive the nasty messages and nasty sentiments expressed by someone - it is very hurtful”. Judge Francis Comerford told the court that he will impose sentence in the case on Friday and remanded Mr Downes on continuing bail. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Please follow us on Google to support us Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Chief suspect identified for attack on Garda member's homeA chief suspect has been identified for an attack on a Garda member's home last year and is expected to be charged. The incident took place last summer when the Garda was attending the Donegal International Rally with a modified car in Garda livery. Gardaí suspect the attackers saw on social media that Garda Christopher Lynch was in Donegal at the time with the Volkswagen Golf, which had been seized during a drug raid and decked out in Garda livery for use in an outreach project.
Read more »
Garda Investigation Underway After Teens Burglarize Galway HotelThree youths allegedly broke into the Menlo Park Hotel in Co Galway early Saturday morning, stealing multiple cash tills. Gardai are investigating the incident and appealing for witnesses who may have seen suspicious activity in the area between 4:15am and 4:21am.
Read more »
Man who offered 'bribe' for garda info and threw phone in toilet loses appealRyan Fitzpatrick of Jameson Orchard, Seamount Road, Malahide, pleaded guilty last year at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to perverting the course of justice by attempting to destroy a mobile phone linked to a particular SIM card
Read more »
Garda Commissioner wants court to reverse order to reinstate civilian driver made to retire at 70WRC adjudicator found that €20,600 pension the plaintiff receives indicates he is ‘highly likely to experience financial hardship’
Read more »
Ex-Leicester City goalkeeper spared jail time over Dublin stag night 'melee'Footballer Conrad Logan tried to headbutt a garda
Read more »
'Pathetic coward' jailed for eight years for sexual abuse of two girls under 10One of the victims said no one had believed her when she tried to confide in others what was happening
Read more »