Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: Man sentenced for harassing Fine Gael TD

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is a TD for Dún Laoghaire

A man who sent messages and sexually-explicit videos to an Irish politician has been given a suspended one-year sentence.

Forty-three-year-old Gerard Culhane pleaded guilty to harassing Fine Gael TD (member of the Irish parliament) Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.

She was campaigning for the 2020 Irish general election when she received the messages, leaving her with a "cold sense of dread" while canvassing.

At a previous hearing the court in Dublin was told that the messages came from a Facebook account.

Warning: This article contains graphic details that some readers may find upsetting

Culhane, of Marian Place in Glin, County Limerick, sent 13 messages, including three sexually explicit videos, between January and March 2020.

One message read: "Hi Jen, you will be the best-looking TD in the Dáil (Irish parliament) in a few weeks."

Later that same evening, she received more messages, one which read: "Love your campaign poster, you look stunning in it."

Another message read: "I must have a hot bath", followed by a winky, thumbs up emoji and a love heart emoji.

Another message was sent, showing a man looking into a mirror, suggestively pulling his underwear down.

Ms Carroll MacNeill woke the next morning to find six more messages from the account.

One was of a man wearing pink underwear and masturbating, along with winking, kiss and love heart emojis.

Another was a video in which a penis and hands could be seen but Ms Carroll MacNeill did not watch the rest of the clip.

She was also sent a photograph of herself taken in Dún Laoghaire - attached to it was a message saying: "You look so sexy. What a great body you have."

Gerard Culhane said "stupidity" had made him send the messages

Ms Carroll MacNeill did not respond to any of the messages she received.

She reported them to gardaí (Irish police).

Culhane gave his phone and his Facebook password to gardaí when they went to his house.

He admitted sending the messages and said the videos had been downloaded from pornography websites.

He apologised and said "stupidity" had made him do it.

In her victim impact statement to the court, Ms Carroll MacNeill said the harassment from Culhane was "extremely difficult to deal with".

She was worried for her safety and afraid while canvassing because she had to meet people in person during the election campaign.

She said she had "a cold sense of dread" and she spoke of a reluctance to smile, to put out her hand and to engage.

She said that "with every fibre of my being I do not wish to be here", adding that she did not want to waste the time of the court or the gardaí.

But because Culhane had sent her unsolicited images "we all have to be here", she said.

"I do not choose to be sexualised in this way, to be in media articles with sexual content," she said.

Gerard Culhane was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

"But because some man decided to send me sexually explicit videos it is there for ever more for everyone to see.

"All of this is without my consent."

She said did not wish to be "a victim".

"I am a private person and I just don't like it," she said.

The court was told that Culhane had no previous convictions, was living with his parents and had been unemployed since 2004.

His defence solicitor said: "Unfortunately he began contacting the complainant because he was curious to see if he could engage with her."

The court heard he continued the communication because he had not been blocked and hoped she might respond.

The solicitor said Culhane did not wish to cause Ms Carroll MacNeill alarm.

The judge ordered Culhane not to contact the politician.

He also ordered him to stay away from Leinster House, the building housing the Irish parliament, Ms Carroll MacNeill's place of work.