Irish policeman charged with false imprisonment

A garda (Irish police) sergeant has been charged with the false imprisonment of a woman, perverting the course of justice and burglary.

Ciaran Whelan, with an address in Nenagh, County Tipperary, is accused of the false imprisonment of a woman at a property on Saint John's Road West, Dublin, on 7 September 2021.

He appeared before Dublin District Court on Tuesday.

The Garda Anti-Corruption Unit has been carrying out an investigation into the activities of a particular Garda unit based in the Dublin region.

Since the start of this investigation four members of An Garda Síochána have been suspended from duty.

As this is an ongoing criminal investigation, An Garda Síochána said it will be making no further comment.

As part of the investigation, Ciaran Whelan is charged with seven offences alleged to have been committed between June and September 2021.

He was arrested at Irishtown Garda Station just before 10:00 local time on 11 March.

He is also charged with perverting the course of justice by making a false report to a superior on a date between 25 August 2021 and 15 September 2021 regarding a search carried out at a flat on Kenilworth Road in Dublin on 19 June 2021.

He also faces charges of theft at a flat on Kenilsworth Road on 19 June and at a flat on Mountjoy Square in Dublin on 7 September 2021.

Another charge states an alleged intent to pervert the course of justice by amending data on the Garda Pulse system on 27 September 2021.

Mr Whelan will now be sent forward for trial, after being remanded on bail to appear in court again on 17 May when a book of evidence will be served.

A second garda, Mark Duffy, with an address in Dublin, is accused of perverting the course of justice and burglary.