A FORMER GARDA who was jailed in July for inciting strangers to rape a colleague is to plead guilty to the unauthorised disclosure of garda PULSE personal data on 14 individuals.

Judge Francis Comerford told Ennis Circuit Court today that 39-year-old Shane Flanagan, with an address in Ennis, Co Clare, has indicated that his intention is to plead guilty to charges before the court.

Counsel for the State, Sarah-Jane Comerford BL confirmed that this is the case, stating that Flanagan’s instructing solicitor has been in correspondence with the State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey “to say that guilty pleas are forthcoming”.

Comerford said that “these are serious charges”.

The case against Shane Flanagan – who resigned from the force in March – was listed for trial, which is not to proceed following the indication of guilty pleas.

Flanagan was brought before the court by Irish Prison Service personnel from his prison today to be arraigned on the charges.

However, the arraignment could not proceed after no solicitor or barrister appeared on Flanagan’s behalf.

Flanagan told the court that he had spoken to his solicitor last Friday.

Assisting the court, Aaron Desmond BL said that Flanagan did not seek legal aid in the district court, “but since then, Flanagan’s circumstances have changed, and he is serving a lengthy prison term of seven years in prison”.

Judge Comerford granted legal aid for solicitor, Martin Cosgrove and two barristers to represent Flanagan and adjourned the case to Thursday for Flanagan to be arraigned.

Judge Comerford said: “His lawyers should be here.”

Judge Comerford warned: “I don’t want to hear excuses on Thursday and I am not going to keep putting it back and back and back.”

In the case, Shane Flanagan is facing 14 separate counts of disclosing personal data on the garda PULSE Information system to another person on dates between 12 January to 24 September 2020.

The charges relate to Flanagan disclosing the personal data of 14 separate individuals without authorisation from the garda PULSE system. Only their initials are provided on the charges in order to protect their identity.

Flanagan is charged under the Data Protection Act.

At the Central Criminal Court at the end of July, Justice Eileen Creedon sentenced Flanagan to eight years in prison and suspended the final year.

The court heard that Flanagan impersonated a female colleague online and encouraged strangers to come to her house to rape her and her young daughters.

Judge Creedon said that Flanagan showed a breathtaking disregard for the safety of his victims.

Flanagan admitted two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman, who had been a friend, on dates between November and December 2020.

Flanagan also admitted six counts of endangering the woman and her teenage daughters through his communications online and he pleaded guilty to possessing four images of child sexual abuse material.

The court heard that Flanagan and the woman were both serving members of An Garda Síochána at the time. They were friends but had never had a romantic or intimate relationship.