Judge denies bail over ‘insidious’ tracker in child’s car seat
A man has been refused bail after a court heard he allegedly planted a small tracking device in his child’s car seat and bombarded his ex-partner with up to 50 emails a day in breach of a safety order.
The man, who is aged in his 30s and from Dublin, appeared before Judge Patricia McNamara at Tallaght District Court. Garda Gavin Cribbin objected to bail under the O’Callaghan principles, citing eight alleged breaches of a safety order during June and July 2025.
The court heard the most serious breach involved a small tracking device allegedly hidden in the seat where the couple’s child usually sits.
The device was discovered on June 29, after the injured party’s relative – a passenger in her car – received an alert on their phone warning that a tracker was nearby.
The complainant used two separate apps to confirm the presence of the device and eventually located it tucked into the child’s car seat.
The court heard the accused had allegedly borrowed the seat to facilitate a custody exchange – and it was alleged he later admitted to a relative that he had planted the tracker.
Detective Sergeant Ruth Finnegan told the court it was “an AirTag-type of device”.
Judge McNamara described the tracker incident as “particularly insidious” and said it formed part of a worrying pattern of behaviour that posed a real risk of interference with the complainant.
The accused is facing eight alleged breaches of the safety order, four of which relate to email contact. The court heard the man was only permitted to contact the injured party regarding child access but allegedly sent around 50 emails a day over three consecutive days – some of which were described as abusive and made no reference to child access.
One message allegedly contained repeated verbal abuse, and the complainant eventually blocked his email address.
The injured party gave evidence in court, saying she had been in a relationship with the man for almost a decade and that they share children.
She was granted a two-year safety order in April 2025, after applying earlier in the year.
“He won’t stop contacting me or intimidating me,” she said. “I feel like he’s going to snap one day.”
The woman described how daily life had become fearful and tense, saying she felt sick when she realised she was being tracked. “I don’t know what it will take for him to leave me alone,” she told the court.
She also described a custody handover on July 12, where the man allegedly shouted abuse in front of the children, followed her on foot, and initially refused to hand the children over.
Garda Cribbin said that while no explicit threat had been made, the tracking incident was of particular concern and reflected what he called an “evolution of behaviour” that was becoming more serious and invasive.
Defence solicitor John O’Leary said his client maintains the presumption of innocence and pointed out there was no history of violence.
Refusing bail, Judge McNamara said she was satisfied there was a real risk of interference with the injured party and refused bail under the O’Callaghan principles.
She said: “There is a presumption of innocence, but I am satisfied from what I’ve heard that there is a possibility of interference with the applicant in the safety order.”
She described the tracker allegation as “particularly insidious,” adding: “It’s not even the emails, even though they’re quite abusive – it’s the allegation that he borrowed a car seat and put a tracker in there to monitor her movements.”
Judge McNamara noted that the injured party had expressed fear and that the behaviour appeared to be escalating.
The man was remanded in custody to appear via video link at Cloverhill District Court on Friday, July 25th.