‘Peeping Tom’ garda will begin prison sentence next month

Published: 23 March 2024 SHARE.

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A former garda who harassed two former female colleagues by looking through the window of Clifden Garda Station as they got changed, will begin a three-month prison sentence next month.

Mícheal Mannion (42), a married father of two with an address at Toorena, Renvyle, was convicted last year of two charges of harassing two female colleagues at Clifden Garda Station (pictured), contrary to Section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

Mannion denied harassing a female sergeant and her garda colleague on dates between August 2019 and November 2019.

At Galway District Court last October, Judge Marie Keane imposed prison sentences totalling six months.

At Galway circuit court on Wednesday, Mannion pleaded guilty and appealed the severity of the sentence handed down by the District Court.

Taking into account all aggravating and mitigating factors, Judge Brian O’Callaghan reduced the sentences to three months.

“It is the court’s view that when we damage fellow citizens, be they colleagues or otherwise, sometimes a custodial sentence is warranted,” he said.

Following an application from the defence, Judge O’Callaghan deferred the commencement of the sentence to next month.

The Judge told Mannion he must present himself to Galway courthouse on the morning of April 29 to begin serving his sentence.

The court was told Mannion previously resigned as a Garda.

Camera footage played in court showed Mannion standing on a hand railing in order to look into the female dressing rooms.

One piece of footage shows Mannion moving a Garda patrol van so it blocks CCTV – just before he looks in the window of the female dressing room.

Det Insp Kieran Hanley told the court the footage ‘shows an amount of pre-planning and preparation by Mícheal Mannion’.

Over 2800 hours of footage from Clifden Garda Station was viewed during the investigation, the court heard.

Urging the court not to impose a custodial sentence, defence barrister, Geri Silke BL, said Mannion ‘has lost everything’.

Both victims were present and told the court of the serious impact of Mannion’s behaviour on them and their families.