'My garda ex beat me, sexually and emotionally abused me while I was pregnant - and when I reported him, his colleagues on the Force intimidated me... but that's not even close to what hurts me the most'

Published: 22:17, 6 June 2026 | Updated: 22:17, 6 June 2026 A woman who was physically, sexually and emotionally abused by her former partner and serving garda while she was pregnant has accused the force of failing to properly investigate their colleague. In an interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday, the woman – whose case was highlighted by the Garda Inspectorate – has called for a new investigation into the horrific abuse she suffered at the hands of her ex, who she says admitted under oath to assaulting her. She also spoke of her heartbreak at losing custody of her only child after her abuser ex accused her of parental alienation in the family courts. The brave mother spoke out as garda abusers were this weekend accused of using the controversial ‘in-camera’ rule in family court proceedings as a ‘shield’ against potential sanctions. It also comes as former garda-turned-advocate Margaret Loftus told the MoS she has been contacted by ‘dozens’ of women who claim they were abused by serving or former gardaí. Ms Loftus – who was violently attacked by her ex-husband and serving garda Trevor Bolger – said she has spoken to ‘hundreds’ of women who ‘have expressed a negative, damaging experience’ after making abuse complaints to gardaí. Some of the latest abuse allegations involving a serving officer were highlighted in a Garda Inspectorate report in 2023. It detailed how the woman – given the name ‘Jennifer’ to protect her real identity – separated from the garda ‘because of his physical, sexual and emotional abuse, which included shouting, hitting and belittling her over a two-year period’. The serving officer allegedly told her ‘no one would believe her as he was a guard’. When Jennifer finally plucked up the courage to report the abuse, she said she was dismayed by the response of her former partner’s colleagues. The report noted the terrified mother had a ‘positive’ experience with the first garda she spoke to. But her case was later reassigned to another officer, who she described as ‘uncaring and disinterested’. The shocking revelation comes as former garda-turned-advocate Margaret Loftus told the Mail she has been contacted by ‘dozens’ of women who claim they were abused by serving or ex gardaí It also noted ‘poor responses’ from her former partner’s supervisor to complaints about his behaviour. The year after the Garda Inspectorate report, Jennifer’s partner admitted to the abuse when he appeared before the family courts after he was shown photographs of her injuries during an ‘in-camera’ custody hearing. In an interview with the MoS, Jennifer recalled: ‘He was shown a series of pictures and admitted causing the injuries in three different incidents. ‘He said he was “ashamed” … but admitted causing the injuries.’ Jennifer’s account of the hearing – the details of which cannot be published because of the ‘in-camera’ rule – were corroborated by other witnesses who was present in court. The serving officer was originally investigated by gardaí but in 2018 the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ultimately decided not to proceed with the case. He was suspended from the force but was reinstated in 2023, the same year the Garda Inspectorate report was published, and the year before he admitted abusing his former partner and mother of his child in the family court. In March this year, a Garda inspector assigned to the case made a criminal application to obtain the ‘digital audio recording’ of the 2024 family court hearing. This application was refused by the judge, who noted the alleged assault had occurred more than 10 years ago. Jennifer said she was told by her liaison officer at the time that gardaí could not progress the case. In April, May and again on June 1, Jennifer wrote to the Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly asking for the case to be reinvestigated nonetheless in light of the ‘new and material evidence that was not available during the original investigation’. In one letter, she argued the fact that a serving garda admitted abusing his former partner under oath ‘merits further examination’. She told the Commissioner: ‘A failure to address this risks undermining public confidence and may give the impression that such conduct is not being fully scrutinised.’ On Friday – a day after the MoS submitted detailed queries about the case – Commissioner Kelly’s office contacted Jennifer to inform her that her ‘correspondence has been forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner… who has responsibility for governance and accountability in An Garda Síochána’. The email added: ‘He [Deputy Commissioner Paul Cleary] has been requested to examine your correspondence to make a determination on whether the content qualifies as an incident of concern under the new Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 and whether it needs to be referred to Fiosrú [Garda Ombudsman].’ On Friday – a day after the MoS submitted detailed queries about the case – Commissioner Justin Kelly’s office contacted Jennifer to inform her that her ‘correspondence has been forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner… This weekend, Jennifer told the MoS she could not understand the court’s decision not to release the audio recording for the purposes of a criminal investigation. ‘They could take witness statements from people who were in court that day. The solicitor and the barrister and I also had an advocate with me. ‘I am asking gardaí to reopen and investigate my complaint because we now have him properly admitting the abuse. We now have an admission from an active garda under oath on the stand. Up to this point, he hadn’t admitted it. I was saying he did it; he was denying it.’ Sinn Féin justice spokeswoman Rose Conway-Walsh said the case highlights how abusers are using the family courts and the ‘in-camera’ rule as a ‘shield’ against sanctions from their Garda employers. She told the MoS: ‘Public confidence is undermined if members of An Garda Síochána are allowed to continue serving despite having criminal convictions. ‘How can successive ministers for justice stand up in the Dáil and proclaim that they have zero tolerance to violence against women when the very justice system they preside over all too often punishes the victims, while enabling the perpetrators to carry on with impunity.’ Earlier this year, the MoS revealed how gardaí and Defence Forces bosses have no idea how many serving officers have domestic violence orders against them because they rely on serving members to ‘self-disclose’ their offences. Speaking this week, former garda and abuse survivor Margaret Loftus confirmed she has been contacted by a ‘significant’ number of women who allege abuse by current or former members of the force. She told the MoS: ‘I’ve had hundreds [of women contacting her] who have expressed a negative damaging experience with An Garda Síochána. Dozens have explicitly stated their ex-partners are Garda members.’ The woman said her ex's garda colleagues tried to intimidate her after she reported him Ms Loftus, whose ex-husband was convicted of an assault offence in January after more serious charges of threats to kill and coercion were dismissed following a plea agreement, said she is ‘particularly concerned’ there is no ‘statutory requirement for the Garda Commissioner to dismiss a member found to have engaged in domestic abuse’. She added: ‘That sends a troubling message. At a time when the State says that tackling gender-based violence is a priority, victims are entitled to ask what consequences exist for those in law enforcement when they themselves are found to have committed abuse.’ Ms Loftus added: ‘Women feel they’re not just fighting an individual abuser, they feel they are fighting a system that the abuser understands far better than they do.’ The advocate added that, as a former Garda member and abuse survivor, she has a perspective many other victims do not. ‘I could recognise when Garda powers, procedures or relationships were being manipulated and weaponised as part of a pattern of coercive control and abuse. ‘In the wrong hands, any authority can be misused,’ she said. In response to MoS queries, Garda headquarters said the force ‘does not comment on third-party remarks’ or on ‘court proceedings’. In response to MoS queries, Garda headquarters said the force ‘does not comment on third-party remarks’ or on ‘court proceedings’. However, a spokesperson added: ‘In this particular case, the Commissioner has directed a senior officer to examine if any investigative avenues remain available to An Garda Síochána and to liaise with the victim.’ They said that ‘as can be seen from court reports, An Garda Síochána has investigated several serving and former gardaí in relation to domestic abuse.  'These investigations have led to successful prosecutions against these individuals.’ The spokesperson added Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly ‘has made it very clear that there is zero tolerance for domestic abuse outside and inside of An Garda Síochána’. The Department of Justice said: ‘Every allegation of criminal behaviour by a member of An Garda Síochána should be reported to Fiosrú.’ A spokesperson added: ‘Fiosrú has a Specialist Services Unit to investigate incidents, including public complaints, where a garda is accused of domestic violence, coercive control, abuse of power for sexual purposes, child sexual abuse or sexual assault.  'The unit also investigates public complaints where it is alleged that a garda failed to properly investigate incidents of this nature.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.