Former prison officer faces sentencing for smuggling mobile phones

A former prison officer faces a possible five-year sentence for smuggling three mobile phones to an inmate.

Christopher Nolan (aged 41) complied with demands for a mobile phone from a prisoner who was able to tell him his home address and car registration, because he feared for his own safety.

Nolan, of Pace Avenue, Littlepace, Clonee, Co Meath, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to three counts of conveying a mobile phone to a prisoner on dates between August 1 and October 31, 2006.

The prisoner, Englishman Paul Fitzgerald, was serving a 10-year sentence for drug possession at the time and has since been repatriated.

Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned sentencing until December to allow a probation report to be prepared.

Mr Dominic McGinn BL, prosecuting, told Judge Ryan that the maximum penalty was five years imprisonment but that the court had inherent jurisdiction with regard to financial penalties and community service orders.

Detective Sergeant Cormac Brennan told Mr McGinn that Nolan was targeted following the receipt of confidential information during a larger investigation into the traffic of contraband into prisons.

He said Nolan had joined The Prison Service in 2002 and was assigned to Wheatfield Prison.

During his time there he was a “class officer” responsible for a segregated unit of the institution housing prisoners such as sex offenders and those on protection.

Det garda Brennan said Nolan was arrested in March 2007 and made admissions during interview.

Nolan told gardaí that he had felt threatened by Fitzgerald who told him he knew details of his home address and car registration. He said he felt he had “no back-up in there” and did not know how to deal with the situation.

Nolan said that he had been trained to deal with physical threats from prisoners, but not this kind of threat.

Det garda Brennan said Nolan supplied Fitzgerald with three mobile phones beginning in August 2006 but when the prisoner stepped up his requests and asked for drugs, Nolan refused. Nolan said it was “a breath of fresh air” when Fitzgerald was deported in November 2006.

Nolan told gardaí that he had been “deeply unnerved” by an incident at the time during which he believed he was being tailed by men in a car who followed him to his house despite his taking a circuitous route.

Det garda Brennan said Nolan resigned a few days after he was arrested and now works as a barber. He said Nolan had no previous convictions and has not come to any further garda attention.

Det garda Brennan agreed with defence counsel, Mr Patrick Reynolds BL, that there was no evidence that Nolan, a married man with no children, had gained financially from the offence and that he had in fact bought one of the phones with his own money and given Fitzgerald a further two phones he owned personally.

Mr Reynolds said Nolan had committed the offences out of fear and had co-operated fully with gardaí.

He asked Judge Ryan to consider imposing a community service order.