Ex-garda ‘didn’t think’ of obtaining phone records after sex assault claim

A retired garda who is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman in his patrol car 13 years ago says he did not think to obtain his phone records for the time to help establish an alibi which showed he was at home on a meal break when the incident occurred.

Thomas Noonan, 60, is being sued by Antoinette Canty, 33, for assault and false imprisonment in a patrol car in Listowel, Co Kerry. He says he “did not particularly” think he should have retrieved copies of his bills to show he made a call from his home phone.

The call, to a colleague who was also at his home on a meal break, was to arrange for them to meet up again. It was claimed this would have established beyond doubt that he could not have been at a location miles from where the alleged assault occurred.

Ms Canty is seeking High Court damages against Mr Noonan and the State after she claims the then garda gave her lift in his patrol car on March 16, 2001, and, after driving past her family home, he allegedly put his hand on her upper thigh and tried to “get on” her.

Mr Noonan says the incident never happened while the State says it is not liable because he breached prohibitions on carrying a civilian in the patrol car.

Mr Noonan told the court he had brought a woman, who had drink taken, from a chip shop in the town in his patrol car to the nearby Garda station so her mother could be called to take her home, as there were no cabs around at the time.

The court heard that a Garda investigation into the alleged assault was carried out and the DPP decided not to prosecute.

Yesterday, however, the court heard Mr Noonan dispute that Ms Canty was the same woman he came across a number of times on the night of the alleged incident. He said the woman he had met earlier had a handbag and Ms Canty did not.

When Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill told Mr Noonan this was “an extraordinary thing to say at this stage of the case”, the former garda said he doubted Ms Canty was actually the woman with whom he had dealt.

The judge said Mr Noonan was effectively now saying that this was a fraudulent claim. “If you are right, then this court has spent seven days concerning that night on evidence that there were two blonde ladies with red tops and blue jeans around about the centre of Listowel involved in incidents,” said Mr Justice O’Neill. “And, lo and behold, somebody turns up here as the plaintiff, masquerading, it would seem, as Ms Canty.”

Mr Noonan, representing himself, said: “There were two similar girls.”

The judge adjourned the case to the afternoon when Richard Lyons, for the State, put it to Mr Noonan that he could have cleared up this matter immediately by telling investigators that his wife and daughter had heard him come home for his break.

He said he did not do so then because that was “a matter for a later stage”.

Mr Justice O’Neill said he would deliver his judgement on Tuesday.