A FATHER who was the target of a ‘sting’ video uploaded to Facebook by a vigilante gang has told a court that it is ‘cruel’ that a judge won’t allow him in-person contact with his children.
At the Family Law Court, the man said that he has now not seen his children in person for 301 days.
The man – who last year earned more than €150,000 from his work – told the court: “I need to see my children – I was so involved in their lives and I was cut off.”
The man broke up with his wife and moved out of the family home after the ‘sting’ video featuring him being confronted by a member of a vigilante group after he allegedly made contact with a 13-year old was uploaded to Facebook last Summer.
Since then the father’s access to his children has been limited to two remote FaceTime sessions per week.
The father wept in court and put his head in his hands after Judge Adrian Harris refused his application for in-person access to his children and adjourned the matter for further review to September.
In response, the father said: “That is cruel. By then it will be 408 days without seeing my children.”
Solicitor, Colum Doherty for the man told the court that his client “is at his wit’s end” over not being able to see his children in person.
Mr Doherty said: “He tells me ‘it is 265 days since I last met my children, 274 days’ and here today we are at day 301.”
Judge Harris ordered that the man have one additional FaceTime session each week with his children.
Judge Harris made his ruling after the man’s estranged wife told the court that the Garda investigation into the circumstances around the ‘sting’ video continues.
The woman was opposing her husband’s application to see their children in person.
She told Judge Harris: “I don’t want him coming to the area – everyone in the area would ostracise us even more.”
She said that the ‘sting video’ “is a 30 minute video where he admits his guilt”.
The man’s estranged wife told the court “everyone in my life has seen this video”.
The man admitted that it was his fault that he lost in person access to his children after he said that he was brought by Gardai to a Garda station in Dublin last Summer arising from the ‘sting’ video.
The man said that he is currently in therapy concerning the circumstances involving the ‘sting video’.
Solicitor, Colum Doherty for the father said that his client was last Summer approached by a “vigilante gang and certain issues arose”.
Mr Doherty said that “we don’t expect it to go any further” concerning the Garda investigation and pointed out that his client has a Dublin legal firm representing his client in the alleged criminal matter.
The man’s estranged wife told the court “lot of kids don’t come to our house anymore” arising from the video.
She said: “It is awkward for me because parents don’t want to talk to me.”
Mr Doherty said his client was consenting to a Safety Order.
In a separate application concerning maintenance, the court heard that last year the man earned €154,000.
When Mr Doherty for the husband questioned the man’s estranged wife’s weekly spend of €200 on therapy she said “it is quite expensive and I have struggled a lot to deal with the situation”.
She confirmed that around the time of their break-up last Summer, the couple had around €45,000 in a joint savings account.
She said that “we had discussions about the money if he was going to jail – which is still a possibility – and it was agreed I take 50pc of it into a personal account and I took €20,000 which was less than 50pc”.
