Domestic Violence

Charity expresses concern over suspended sentence for Garda after assaulting partner

Women’s Aid and Dublin Rape Crisis Centre commended Margaret Loftus for taking the case.

6.29pm, 16 Jan 2026

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LAST UPDATE | 16 Jan

THE DUBLIN RAPE Crisis Centre has expressed alarm after it emerged that a garda who carried out a “terrifying” assault on his then wife would receive no jail time.

The organisation commended Margaret Loftus for her “courage in seeking justice” against her ex-husband Trevor Bolger.

“She has described the enormous effect that the attack itself and the subsequent suffering she endured has had on her,” chief executive of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) Rachel Morrogh told The Journal.

“How can this equate to a three month suspended sentence?”

Trevor Bolger (48), who was previously attached to Ballymun Garda Station, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Margaret Loftus on October 25, 2012.

During sentencing today, Judge Martina Baxter gave him a three-month sentence which she suspended in full on strict conditions.

The court heard the maximum penalty for the assault, under Section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act which is normally dealt with summarily in the District Court, is six months imprisonment or a fine.

In her victim impact statement, Loftus described the attack after a family event at her childhood bedroom in Co Mayo as “protracted” and “terrifying”, leading her to end her marriage with him the following day.

In the DRCC statement, Morrogh said that sentences handed down to perpetrators must “feel proportionate to the crime” in the case.

Time and time again, we see that when mitigation reduces the sentence handed to perpetrators of violence against women, it can lead to feelings of low self-worth, retraumatisation and powerlessness.

She added that there had been a number of testimonials from Trevor Bolger’s supporters, including one from a retired inspector.

On this, Morrogh said it’s a reminder it’s “possible for someone to be perfectly pleasant to some people in their daily lives while inflicting” harm on other people.

“We hear every day how hard it is for victims to tell anyone about what happened to them – never mind if the perpetrator is an intimate partner who also holds such a position of trust in the community,” Morrogh said.

Domestic violence charity Women’s Aid said that cases like today’s highlight the positions of “unique power and trust” that members of An Garda Sióchána occupy.

“They must always be held to extremely high standards in all aspects of their lives,” its chief executive Sarah Benson said.

In mitigation for Bolger, Judge Baxter noted his letter of apology and work commendations of him as “someone who is committed to his role in An Garda Siochana” and who was a “brave member” of the force who volunteers in the community.

The judge said the probation assessment stated Bolger would benefit from its services, adding he has benefited from that and engaged with rehabilitation.

She said he had made a positive contribution to the community and she accepted “his remorse is genuine and real” and that he was at low risk of reoffending. She noted Bolger and his second wife suffered the traumatic loss of their child.

In a statement, Benson said Women’s Aid offers its solidarity to “Margaret whose courage and determination stands in stark contrast to the actions of her abuser and offers a sign of hope to other victim-survivors of domestic abuse”.

Suspended from gardaí since 2019

In her victim impact statement at an earlier court hearing, Loftus said she felt she had “lost everything” because of Bolger’s assault.

She described how her sense of truth and justice was shattered, and that it also impacted personal relationships she with fellow gardaí.

“There was a stigma attached to me – for standing up for myself,” Loftus said in her victim impact statement.

In a statement this afternoon, the Garda Press Office said that Bolger was suspended in December 2019 over the allegations.

“The garda was investigated in relation to these allegations by An Garda Síochána, they were arrested, and charged following independent review by the Director of Public Prosecutions, and brought before the courts,” the garda spokesperson told The Journal.

The spokesperson added that any garda personnel who are victims of domestic abuse will find their complaints “treated sensitively”, as it urged people to come forward.

The Garda Commissioner has made it very clear that there is zero tolerance for domestic abuse outside and inside of An Garda Síochána.

In a statement outside court today, Chief Superintendent Ian Lackey from the Organised and Serious Crime Bureau, thanked Loftus for speaking up and coming forward.

“Taking that first step takes personal courage. You have shown to any other person out there who is in an abusive and controlled relationship that you will be listened to, and you will be heard,” Lackey said.