Gerard Culhane given suspended sentence for harassment

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Gerard Culhane received a one-year sentence, fully suspended, for harassing Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. He pleaded guilty to the harassment. The proceedings were reported on 21 October 2022.

Culhane, of Marian Place, Glin, Co Limerick, sent 13 messages to Ms Carroll MacNeill between January and March 2020, including three sexually explicit videos. The messages came from a Facebook account in another name.

Judge Patricia Ryan ordered Culhane not to contact Ms Carroll MacNeill in person or on social media and to stay away from Leinster House and her place of work. She assessed the headline sentence at two years, reduced it to one year and suspended it fully on conditions.

The judge said the number of messages and their effect on Ms Carroll MacNeill were aggravating factors. She took account of Culhane’s cooperation with gardaí, his remorse and his donation to a charity nominated by the TD. The court was told he had no previous convictions and that a probation report assessed him as at low risk of reoffending.

Culhane admitted sending the messages and said he had downloaded the videos from pornography sites. His defence counsel said he had contacted the complainant out of curiosity about whether he could engage with her and did not wish to cause her alarm. The court was told he continued because he had not been blocked and hoped she might respond.

In a victim impact statement given in May 2022, Ms Carroll MacNeill said the harassment was extremely difficult to deal with and left her worried for her safety while canvassing during the general election campaign.