Woman’s ‘filthy’ leaflet alleged sex abuse

A judge has described as “filthy” and “appalling” a mother’s circulation of a notice alleging that a home in the area is the subject of an ongoing garda investigation into child sex abuse.

At the Family Law Court in Ennis, Judge Patrick Durcan said that what the woman did only engenders poison in a rural area.

In the “urgent notice” circulated, the woman names the family and provides their address.

The woman is currently in a court battle with her estranged partner — who is a member of the family targeted — in a dispute over access to their child.

The man has not had any access to the child since last November.

In the “urgent notice”, the woman claims that there is an ongoing garda investigation into paedophilia at the address. However, the notice does not make any allegations against the woman’s estranged partner.

The notice, which contains unsubstantiated, lurid allegations of what is alleged to have taken place at the address, is signed off by the woman concerned.

Solicitor for the man, Shíofra Hassett, told the Family Law Court in Ennis that the circulation of the notice, which runs to more than 350 words, is now the subject of an investigation by gardai.

Addressing the court, Judge Duncan said: “I am not going to tolerate this kind of carry on.”

He told the woman’s solicitor, Tara Godfrey: “I am not impressed by your client and I am very unimpressed by the document that your client found necessary to distribute to 200 houses in a rural area.

“I live in rural Ireland. I am a product of rural Ireland and I know precisely the poison that something like this would engender. I find that anyone who does that kind of thing is, in my view, contemptible. It is filthy. It is appalling and every negative word I can think of.”

Earlier, Ms Hassett told the court of the “serious development” in the case and said that residents from 200 homes in the area “woke up to find this notice pushed through their letter box”.

The woman who circulated the notice was before the court for an alleged breach of access against her estranged partner concerning their child.

Judge Durcan said she had previously given evidence that her estranged partner “is a very good father”. The woman also said in evidence that, last summer, there were investigations into paedophilia at the home of her estranged partner, but that the man himself was not the subject of this investigation.

Judge Durcan told the woman: “You have shown total contempt for this court by not turning up on many occasions.”

He said breach of access in a family law case is a criminal offence, where those found to be in breach can be jailed for up to 12 months and receive a fine up to €1,500.

Judge Durcan told the woman: “I want to see access up and running. This case has been marked by you ducking, dodging, and diving and obstruction of various orders of the court.”

He said that the woman has not been convicted in relation to a breach of access.

He said: “Not yet. In relation to the evidence, I am satisfied that there has been a breach.

“We are going to have access — maybe without your client and it may be necessary to push her out of the picture completely.”

The judge adjourned the case to tomorrow at Ennis District Court, where the case concerning the alleged breach of access will be determined.