*Kilmihil.
A KILMIHIL man accused of harassing a Garda through anonymous posts on Facebook repeatedly denied to Gardaí at interview that he had made the posts, a court has heard.
At Ennis Circuit Court, the jury heard that Jason Downes said “I didn’t send any messages” about Garda David (Daithi) King when it was put to him by Gardaí at interview in June 2022 that he did send the messages.
At interview, Mr Downes made repeated denials that he had any role in the posting of Facebook messages and directly messaging Garda King’s wife, Ciara Bohan. He said, “It wasn’t me”.
When Gardaí put circumstantial technical evidence concerning an email account to him, Mr Downes said, “It doesn’t look good.”
Counsel for Mr Downes, Patrick Whyms (instructed by solicitor, Patrick Moylan) told the jury, “Mr Downes was quite open that the circumstantial evidence didn’t look good but he was adamant that he wasn’t responsible for the material”.
Det Garda Deirdre Collins told Mr Downes that Garda King was defamed by the online posts.
In the case, Jason Downes (31) of St Michael’s Place Kilmihil, Co Clare denies on dates between June 6th and June 16th 2020 harassing David King by persistently communicating about him and thereby causing him alarm and distress contrary to Section 10 of Non Fatal Offences Against The Person Act.
The State allege that the comments were made through a fake Tommy Teirnan wrongly spelled Facebook account.
At interview, Gardaí asked Mr Downes to write down the name Tommy Tiernan to see if he spelled it the way the name appeared on the fake Facebook account and Mr Downes spelled the name ‘Tommy Ternan’ without any ‘i’ the jury was told.
Earlier in evidence in the case, primary school teacher, Ciara Bohan told a jury how she was left ‘nervous and scared’ over “nasty” comments made about her husband from an anonymous Facebook account.
Ms Bohan became visibly upset in the witness box as she said that she was left “upset and vulnerable” over anonymous Facebook messenger messages she received about her husband, Garda David (Daithi) King in June 2020.
Ms Bohan was seven months pregnant at the time and also had a toddler at home when she received messages from a Facebook profile with the name Tommy Teirnan.
In one message received on her own Facebook account on June 16th 2020, it said ‘tell your husband he is only a shitty arse coward. I will find out more about him and when I do, he will be very sorry”.
When asked by counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford BL (instructed by Clare State Solicitor, Aisling Casey) how this made her feel, Ms Bohan said “I was upset. My husband went out to do his job as a Guard which I think he did on the day the original messages were posted”.
Ms Bohan said, “He is a good Guard and well respected among his peers. Then to receive the nasty messages and nasty sentiments expressed by someone – it is very hurtful”.
The June 16th message came one week after Ms Bohan received a friend request from the anonymous Tommy Teirnan account and a private message saying ‘your husband is a creep, tell him to stay away from the innocent people in West Clare’.
Ms Bohan said that she was left nervous and scared after receiving the message. She said, “I was upset. It is not a nice thing to receive about your husband”.
Ms Bohan said that these messages were sent in June 2020 in the middle of Covid 19.
She said, “It was a very worrying time, a scary time and a distressing time”.
In evidence, Garda King said that he was “distressed” by the messages and the posts.
He said that the posts included photos of him while on duty, on his wedding day and at a relative’s wedding.
Garda King told the jury, “I was quite distressed. Pictures of me in my private life. My privacy was being invaded along with the allegations”.
Ms Comerford told the jury that on June 8th 2020, Garda David King had an interaction with the accused man’s brother, Nathan Downes and he seized a car that Nathan Downes was driving.
In evidence, Garda King said that he seized the car as Nathan Downes was driving the car without a driver’s licence and without insurance and in a case like that a car can be seized under the Road Traffic Act.
Ms Comerford said, “During the course of the interaction, Nathan Downes took a video of part of the incident”.
She said, “Later that day on June 8th 2020, there was a post with a number of photos on Facebook by a profile named Tommy Teirnan, spelt wrong”.
Ms Comerford said the post said ‘This scum of a Garda trying to make a name for himself by bullying people who are on disability. Please share this Garda based in Kilrush Garda Station. GSOC has a letter of complaint. Hopefully, they will get to the bottom of it’.
Ms Comerford said that the post continued, “This Garda is not doing his job. He is a bully and a creep to have in West Clare. His name is Garda Daithi King”.
