Posted by Updated / Friday, 16 Jan 2026 14:04
Crime Correspondent
A 48-year-old garda who assaulted his wife in her childhood home with their young children in the room over 13 years ago has been given a three-month suspended sentence.
Trevor Bolger attacked Margaret Loftus, who was also a garda, after they attended a family party in Co Mayo on 24 October 2012.
Judge Martina Baxter said Bolger perpetrated an egregious breach of trust and, as a garda, is held to a higher standard.
It was, she said a serious offence because it was committed by him.
The maximum sentence for the offence is six months.
The judge also said that a custodial sentence was not required because Mr Bolger “stands in the public arena recognising his wrongdoing”.
Bolger and Ms Loftus met when they were both stationed in Ballymun Garda Station in 2006 and married in 2010.
In October 2012, they attended Ms Loftus’ brother’s 30th birthday party in her native Co Mayo.
Bolger was very annoyed at having to go to the event, and when Ms Loftus went to talk to members of her family in the pub, he sat at the bar drinking and did not speak to her.
When they got back to her family home, where they were staying, he got angry.
In their bedroom, which was also Ms Loftus’ childhood bedroom, Bolger hit his wife on the back and grabbed her hair.
Ms Loftus begged her husband not to hurt her or their young children, who were also in the room.
The assault marked the end of the marriage, and the next day, Ms Loftus’ father stood beside her as she told Bolger the marriage was over.
He was interviewed in 2018 and 2019 but denied assaulting his then-wife.
He subsequently admitted what he had done.
Ms Loftus told her former husband that he had done his level best to break her and had made her suffer every single day of her life since she left him.
However, the experience had made her stronger, she added, and she urged all victims of domestic violence to come forward.
In her victim impact statement to the court delivered at a previous hearing last June, Ms Loftus said she had been assaulted in the place that she would have called the safest place on earth.
She said the assault was so violent and terrifying that it ended her marriage.
She added that her fear was heightened because her children were present.
After the assault, she said, she spent the entire night praying and promised God that she would never be in that situation again.
Ms Loftus said she left the marriage as she felt that, if she did not, her life would be at risk.
She told the court she chose not to live in fear and did not want to be an “ad on the telly” for domestic violence.
Ms Loftus also said that her decision to leave had impacted her professional relationships in An Garda Síochána.
“I was supposed to protect the vulnerable,” she said, “not be the vulnerable”.
She said she felt that her colleagues treated her differently, and there was a stigma attached to her.
She also asked how her ex-husband could continue to protect the vulnerable when he had assaulted her.
Ms Loftus told the court that being on the other side of the fence was very difficult, and she felt the system that she used to protect was used against her.
She said it had taken 13 years to get to this point, but “truth and justice must always prevail in the end”.
In mitigation, Senior Counsel Cathleen Noctor said that Bolger was the youngest of seven children and cared for his elderly father.
In the aftermath of the assault, he had admitted himself to St Patrick’s Hospital as he was suicidal.
She read numerous testimonials from friends, family and sporting organisations he was involved with.
The court also heard that he no longer drinks alcohol.
She asked the court to take into account his guilty plea, his 20-year record of service in An Garda Síochána, and his positive contribution to society both within the gardaí and in the community.
Ms Noctor said that he had written a letter of apology to Ms Loftus and was offering €6,000 in compensation, which she was willing to accept on behalf of their children.
Bolger was promoted to the rank of detective and was attached to Howth Garda Station in August 2018.
He was suspended in December 2018 and was sent forward for trial on indictment in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
He has no previous convictions.
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