Former garda spared jail over coercive control of wife

A former garda who pleaded guilty to coercively controlling his wife has been spared jail after a Judge handed down an 18-month suspended sentence.

David Reynolds, from Mullingar in Co Westmeath, was ordered to pay €10,000 to his former wife and complete an anger management course.

Judge Keenan Johnson said it was difficult to sentence, because of conflicting factors, but he was moved by the position of the children involved and the negative impact incarceration may have.

The judge noted that incarcerating him would separate him from his children, with whom he had a loving relationship.

During the sentencing at Mullingar Circuit Court this afternoon Judge Johnson said it was clear David Reynolds had a "gross misconception" of what marriage is.

He said it was a significant case of coercive control, which occurred from 1 January 2019 until 18 July 2022.

The court heard it involved tracking and controlling his wife, Ashley Masterson who waived her anonymity at an earlier hearing, so that David Reynolds could be named.

The father-of-three who was a Garda for 17 years was dismissed from An Garda Síochána in August, the court heard.

Judge Johnson said that Reynolds had suffered "a fall from grace" and a total loss of reputation.

He noted that as a member of An Garda Síochána, he was held to a higher standard than the general public.

The Judge said the aggravating factors included the nature of control.

He said the fact he argued with his partner in front of their children also had a negative impact.

He also said when arrested, Reynolds still didn't appreciate the gravity of the offences.

Judge Johnson said other aggravating factors included the fact this was perpetrated on his partner.

Mitigating factors included the guilty plea, the fact he had been dismissed from An Garda Siochana and the loss of reputation.

Counselling notes also indicated he was remorseful.

He sentenced David Reynolds to eighteen months in jail, suspending it for eight years.

He directed Reynolds to complete an anger management course and pay his former wife €10,000.

Judge Johnson also praised the victim Ashley Masterson and wished her well in the future.

Reynolds also pleaded guilty today to a separate charge of falsifying a change of ownership document to avoid paying motor tax and was given the Probation Act and ordered to pay €1000 to the Garda Benevolent Fund.

Sentencing hearing in May heard how Reynolds treated wife like his "chattel"

At a sentencing hearing in May Judge Johnson said Reynolds had treated his wife like his "chattel", controlled the finances, had a tracker on her phone and expected her to stay at home.

At the sentencing hearing, Mullingar Circuit Court heard Reynolds made 13 hours of audio recordings of conversations and arguments with his wife on his phone.

The recordings were discovered by gardaí when he was arrested, the court heard.

The court was told the recordings included "mundane conversations" and arguments which escalated and de-escalated quickly, both being abusive in some of the audios.

Sergeant Orla Keenan, of Mullingar Garda Station, agreed with the prosecution that Reynolds can be heard accusing Ashley Masterson of lying, of infidelity, of being with a friend he did not approve of and stopping her from leaving the house to socialise.

The couple could be heard shouting at each other, with sounds of the arguments becoming physical.

Some recordings continued after the arguments when Reynolds could be heard sobbing.

Ashley Masterson said "the control and bullying" by her former husband has left her emotionally scarred with trust issues.

In her victim impact statement at the hearing in May, and read to the court on her behalf, she said: "I have been left with constant fatigue, stress and anxiety."

She said she is "financially ruined" and struggles with day-to-day living.

"All I can hope for is for things to improve, but I live with that feeling of dread that this is as good as life gets.

"I feel like I’ve lost my own personality and nearly hate going places and seeing how happy and normal other family units are," she said.