Former garda abused and terrorised ex-partner, court told

A former garda physically and psychologically abused and terrorised his former partner and the mother of his child in a prolonged, repeated and controlling manner over a number of years, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

Paul Moody pleaded guilty to harassment and coercion offences, which he committed against another woman before his attacks on Nicola Hannay, for which he has already served a three-year sentence.

Moody sent the woman 2,261 violent, threatening and abusive messages over a six-day period in March 2016.

He also paced the house they shared with a knife in his hand "like a man possessed" and while she was pregnant with their baby in hospital. He turned up and whispered abuse and threats into her ear, including telling her he hoped she would bleed to death.

"I hope you lose moo and die in the process," he told her. Moo was the name for the unborn baby.

He was also aggressive towards medical staff and had to be barred from the hospital.

He became obsessed with the woman's prior relationships and called her all sorts of abusive names including "slag" and "whore".

He ripped up her clothes and threw her possessions out of their room.

Moody set up a number of false email accounts and sent intimate images of the woman with her former husband to a number of people, including to her place of work.

The woman had a brother in the US and Moody contacted the US Embassy telling them her former husband was a terrorist to prevent her and her mother from getting a visa.

He sent numerous abusive, insulting and threatening messages, including about the victim’s mother who is a survivor of cancer.

"You're an aul bat I hope you're riddled with cancer," he said to her as she supported her daughter and was holding their child.

Moody became obsessed with prior relationships and sent intimate photos of her with her former husband - he had set up a secret email address - the trurth doctor bollox@ gmail.com

He also used his position as a garda to harass, control and terrify her.

The woman made a complaint to the Garda Ombudsman, which had the case for five years and she said did nothing about it.

She described their "neglect" of her "complaint" as "a betrayal of trust".

Gardaí only realised there was a GSOC investigation when they found letters to Moody when they searched his home and contacted the victim.

On the day Moody was first convicted, the woman said she received a call from GSOC which she described as "a sledgehammer".

"This could have been avoided if someone had listened in 2017," she told GSOC.

She asked gardaí to take over this investigation and made a statement to them in 2023.

She described the difference between the two organisations as "the difference between night and day" and said gardaí had restored her faith.

Judge Martin Nolan will sentence Moody this afternoon.