Cork man who developed psychosis after LSD trip harassed woman who tried to help him

Accused bombarded woman with texts and turned up at her home and place of work after she tried to calm him after 'a bad acid trip' at a house in Cork, court told                                                                                                     

Judge ordered accused not to have any communication by any means with the young woman for the next 20 years, not to go within 400m of her home or place of education or employment. Picture: Larry Cummins

A young woman who tried to calm a young man during “a bad acid trip” at a house in Cork was later harassed for years by him, in the belief she was the only one who could help him.

Luke Horgan, 25, of Bunakilla, Donoughmore, Co Cork, has been ordered by Judge Helen Boyle not to have any communication by any means with the young woman for the next 20 years, not to go within 400m of her home or place of education or employment.

“You cannot communicate with — or about — her. If you breach that order, that is a criminal offence and you will be brought back to court,” Judge Helen Boyle said.

Sentencing of Luke Horgan had been put back to allow him to attend at the probation service, but when he appeared before Cork Circuit Criminal Court it emerged he had refused to attend during the period of the adjournment.

Judge Boyle said: “I am very concerned that none of his family are here with him. If he does not engage with probation, I will have no option but to send him into custody. And I might put him into custody in any event.

“[The victim] is entitled to live her life. She was a young person doing her best but she herself has suffered. Mr Horgan has to step up — I am not satisfied with his failure to engage with probation. I want a report from his psychiatrist [or his GP].” 

The accused will be sentenced on February 7, 2025, for harassment that went on from November 2018 until May 2022.

Defence barrister Elaine Audley said the defendant would attend with the probation service. Ms Audley said when the young man took LSD in 2018, it had a terrible effect on him and it led to psychosis. 

“She [the victim] was trying to help him. But [afterwards] he saw her as the only person who could help her,” the barrister said.

While there were extensive contacts by the accused through texts, turning up at her home and appearing where she worked, Ms Audley submitted the harassment arose out of the persistence of the communications rather than threats.

Victim impact statement

The young woman said in her victim impact statement, which she read to the court, she no longer felt safe going to college or work or even in her own home. She has had therapy for anxiety and post-traumatic stress and almost lost her job because of the Luke Horgan’s repeated appearances at her workplace to see her.

Garda Kay Griffin said the injured party was very distressed when she contacted gardaí in March 2022. The two parties had no relationship other than both of them being in a wider group of friends.

She told gardaí that back at a house after a night out in October 2018, Luke Horgan took a tablet and had a very bad experience that lasted hours and she looked after him that night. 

A few days later, he told her that she was speaking to him through the lyrics of a song.

“He grabbed her arm and tried to kiss her but she told him this was not OK and that she had a boyfriend. On another occasion, he called to her home in November 2019 and he forced his way past her boyfriend and said he needed to see her. They called the gardaí.

“She almost lost her job and nearly failed her exams. He was in an acute mental health unit as a voluntary patient. She blocked him on social media but kept him on Snapchat so that she could see his location at all times [to reassure herself that he was not near her],” Garda Griffin said.

Matters abated for some periods but flared up again, most recently in March 2022, when “he told her he was God or Jesus or something along those lines”, Garda Griffin said.

Coincidentally, around the time the injured party was reporting the harassment, a housemate of the accused was contacting emergency services because of his concerns about Mr Horgan being in extreme distress.

Ms Audley said there had been no harassment or communications by the accused with the injured party since March 2022.