CASE ADJOURNED | 

Garda accused of harassing woman needs to be medically assessed, court told

Eamon Moran (49) is accused of making unwanted attempts to contact the woman over the course of nearly two years.

Today at 13:14

A GARDA sergeant charged with harassing a woman with unwanted text messages and missed calls has had his case adjourned so he can be medically assessed.

Eamon Moran (49) is accused of making unwanted attempts to contact the woman over the course of nearly two years.

He was remanded on continuing bail today after Blanchardstown District Court heard he was being assessed for a brain injury and “heart issue.”

Sgt Moran, with an address in south Dublin, is charged with harassing the alleged victim at an unknown location on dates between April 3, 2021 and January 14 this year.

The charge is under Section 10 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. Today was his third court appearance after he was charged in March.

The court had previously ordered disclosure of prosecution evidence and the case was back before the court today to confirm this.

His barrister said disclosure had been received but Sgt Moran had been assessed in respect of rehabilitation. He had suffered a brain injury and also had to undergo medical assessment in relation to a heart issue, she said.

It had not been “appropriate” for the defence to go through the disclosure with their client at this time, the barrister said.

The prosecution was amenable to a further adjournment, she added.

Judge Gerard Jones remanded the accused on continuing bail to appear in court again on a date in October.

Sgt Moran was not required to address the court during today’s brief hearing and has not yet indicated a plea to the charge.

The Director of Public Prosecutions consented to the case being dealt with in the district court and Judge Jones had earlier accepted jurisdiction in the case after hearing an outline of the allegations in April.

At that jurisdiction hearing, a garda inspector told the court it was alleged that between the dates in question, there was a large volume of texts and missed phone calls to the woman from the accused.

The prosecution would claim this contact was unwanted and the accused was aware of this at the time.

On the accused’s first court date, Inspector Daniel Callaghan gave evidence of Sgt Moran’s arrest, charge and caution.

“In reply after caution, he had nothing to say”, Insp Callaghan said.

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Judge Jones had asked the Inspector what the “gist” of the case was.

“It’s an allegation of harassment of a female in the Clondalkin area,” he replied.

Asked if the alleged victim was related to the accused, the Inspector said “no.”

Judge Jones granted bail in the accused’s own bond of €100, with no cash lodgement required. Under conditions, he must not have any contact with the alleged victim, including electronically or by phone.

He is also to stay away from Clondalkin village and Dublin 1.