Over 50 prosecutions for coercive control since 2019

At least one other garda currently facing charges for coercive control

Paul Moody arriving at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for his sentence hearing on Tuesday. Moody was convicted of coercive control. Picture: Collins Courts

Over 50 prosecutions for coercive control have been taken since the offence was introduced in January 2019, figures show.

It follows the conviction on Tuesday of Garda Paul Moody for coercive control.

The 42-year-old harassed, threatened, assaulted, and controlled his former partner for over four years after meeting online in 2017.

As indicated by his defence in mitigation, Garda Moody resigned from the force after being convicted.

Jailed for three years and three months, his lawfully protected pension will be unaffected, a situation the Garda Representative Association said should be examined.

His conviction brings to at least seven the total number of people convicted for coercive control to date. He is the first garda to be convicted of it, but there is at least one garda currently charged.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee told RTÉ radio that she had been assured by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris that work was underway in a number of areas to identify gardaí who abuse their power to target and abuse vulnerable people and who use the Garda Pulse system to gather personal information about people.

This is thought to refer to an internal review, announced by the commissioner in October 2021, into the standard of investigations into allegations of domestic abuse and sexual violence where the suspected offender was a garda.

He set up the review on the back of the Sarah Everard case in London in which Met police officer Wayne Couzens used police powers to falsely arrest the 33-year-old, before kidnapping, raping, and murdering her. Three previous allegations of indecent exposure were made against Couzens, but nothing had happened.

The commissioner set up a “small team” in the Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB) to check if investigations for similar alleged offences against gardaí were properly investigated and files sent to the DPP.

Internal review

Garda HQ said this is an internal review and that no update is available. The review is ongoing. 

Although no decision has yet been made to include Moody’s case, it could be. Garda Internal Affairs is assisting the GNPSB.

Similarly, no decision has yet been made to examine any previous investigations by Moody relating to victims of sexual violence or domestic abuse or prostitution.

Garda sources indicate that since the coercive control investigation into Moody had access to his mobile phone, suspicions of any other wrongdoing would have been referred for investigation.

The trial of Moody heard how he looked up his partner’s friends on the Pulse system and threatened to blackmail them with the information he found.

Garda figures show that 53 charges relating to coercive control have been taken since the Domestic Violence Act 2018 was commenced in January 2019.

Separate figures show that one case was sent forward for trial in 2019, four in 2020, and 13 in 2021.

Available figures in relation to gardaí show:

• 26 have been suspended for sexual assault and domestic violence complaints, 16 for the former and 10 for the latter;
• 24 members have reported to HQ that they are subject to some form of domestic abuse order (figures from last December). 

New policies on in-service vetting are currently being examined inside Garda HQ.

A statement from the Garda Press Office said: "An Garda Síochána can confirm that Paul Moody is no longer a member of An Garda Síochána."

It said the organisation commenced an internal review in early 2022 from "a lessons learned perspective, of gender-based violence/ domestic incidents involving members of An Garda Síochána over a two-year period".

The statement said: "This review is ongoing to ensure An Garda Síochána is providing a best practice response to all victims of gender-based violence in line with international experience and that all victims can feel empowered and safe in reporting gender-based violence incidents to An Garda Síochána."

It added: "An Garda Síochána has policies in place to protect the accessing of information on Garda IT systems and periodic reviews are carried out at a local and national level in support of these policies."