Suspended sentence for explicit texts sent to ex

Almost 200 explicit messages and images were sent to a young woman’s phone from a man with whom she had been friendly for a brief period years ago.

Fergal Grace, of 17 Travara, Skehard Rd, Cork, was given a 10-month sentence yesterday for harassment. Judge Olann Kelleher suspended the jail term on Grace’s undertaking to have no contact with the injured party — directly or indirectly — for the next two years. Grace gave that undertaking yesterday.

Inspector Daniel Coholan said when gardaí obtained a warrant to search the defendant’s home in relation to the harassment complaint they found he was cultivating cannabis in his bedroom.

The two plants had an estimated street value of €800.

Judge Kelleher said the accused could do 200 hours of community service instead of five months in prison for that offence.

The judge also fined him €500 for having the cannabis for his own use.

Defence solicitor Frank Buttimer said the most significant matter was the harassment. Of that he said: “Mr Grace knew her a long time ago and had a limited relationship with her a long time ago.”

By coincidence, he acquired her phone number around the time of the harassment offence and he began to communicate with her.

“The reason he did it is psychiatric in nature. He has been attending his GP and a consultant psychiatrist for what seems to me to be a depression type situation.

“He was prescribed a certain medication but he chose to go without the medication, probably without the approval of the doctor,” said Mr Buttimer.

Grace pleaded guilty at Cork District Court to a charge stating that between May 21 and June 6, 2016, he harassed a woman.

Insp Coholan said the woman complained to gardaí that she was harassed by unwanted text messages, videos, and selfies of an explicit nature from an old boyfriend to whom she had not spoken in years.

There was a total of nearly 200 communications sent to her phone.

Judge Kelleher put the case against the 32-year-old back until yesterday to give the complainant an opportunity to give victim impact evidence if she wanted to do so.

The judge read this report. Mr Buttimer said the defence accepted what was said in the statement in every respect.

Mr Buttimer asked the judge to take account, in particular, of the victim’s request that the main thing she sought was to be left alone and to have no further communications from Grace.