Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Garda impersonated colleague online to encourage men to come to her home and rape her
Shane Flanagan pretended to be the woman on a fetish website and shared her name, address and photos in order for men to come to her home and rape her.
A GARDA WHO impersonated a female colleague online and incited men to come to her home and rape her carried out a ‘calculated, predatory act of violence’, his colleague has said.
Shane Flanagan (39) with an address in Co Clare impersonated the woman on a fetish website and on Facebook for the purpose of arranging for people to come to her home and rape her.
He created the accounts using the woman’s personal information, and shared details including her address and photos of her and her daughters.
Detective Sergeant Paul English told Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, prosecuting, that the woman and Flanagan were friends and there had never been any romantic or sexual history between them.
Detective Garda English said the woman was extremely shocked to find out that Flanagan was the one who had been impersonating her online. “If you gave me a list of 500 names of people that could have done this to me, I would never have guessed it was him,” the woman told the investigation.
Two of the users of the fetish website who interacted with Flanagan while he pretended to be the woman provided statements to gardaí. Flanagan incited them to break into the woman’s house and rape her.
Both genuinely believed they were talking to a woman who had a fetish for ‘CNC’ or consensual non consent. These situations involve one party, typically female, agreeing for another party to carry out a rape at an agreed location.
Anne-Marie Lawlor told the court these men believed they were speaking to the woman, who was consenting to them individually coming to her home to rape her, which she had consented to in advance.
Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020.
He also pleaded guilty to six counts of endangerment, in that he intentionally or recklessly engaged in impersonating the woman in Facebook communications, and on a named fetish website, and in which communications invited persons unknown to visit violence upon her and two others, thereby creating a substantial risk of death or serious harm on dates between 2018 and 2020.
Flanagan also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on 7 January 2021. He has no previous convictions.
‘A betrayal beyond words’
Reading her victim impact statement, the woman said Flanagan was a fellow garda, someone she had trusted and called a friend, who was supposed to uphold the same professional values.
She said he not only betrayed her, but took her career. She said Flanagan “plotted” to have her and her daughters attacked, and that he “planned for men to find us and carry out unspeakable acts of violence”.
She said this was a “betrayal beyond words”. She said she no longer feels safe in her own home, has developed anxiety and panic attacks, and that her trust in others has been damaged.
She said no sentence could undo the harm caused and told the court this was not just a “betrayal of friendship” but a “calculated predatory act of violence that has left lifelong scars” for her and her daughters.
The woman asked the court to impose a just sentence to reflect the safety of others and restore trust in the institution of An Garda Siochána.
The victim began investigating Shane Flanagan herself
The court heard that the woman became aware that someone was using her image on a fetish website after a user of that website contacted her on her real Facebook page in 2020.
In December 2020, she created an account on the fetish website and while pretending to be male, interacted with the user pretending to be her. The court heard during this interaction, information was shared about her, her address and that she has two teenage daughters. She then made a complaint to gardaí.
Evidence was heard of an extensive investigation, which connected the account impersonating the woman to Flanagan.
His home was searched on 17 January 2021 and items including a phone and a laptop were seized. Flanagan provided passwords for these devices and for an email address.
An analysis of these devices by the Garda National Cyber Crime Unit identified over 2,000 screenshots from Pulse (the computer system used by gardaí to record and manage their work), 32 records of missing persons and 18 images of garda age identification documents.
The log-in details for the account on the fetish website were autosaved to the browser, and this site was accessed 4,089 times between October 2020 and mid-January 2021.
Four images of child abuse material were also found on the laptop.
Advertisement
The investigation also found that Flanagan had created a false Facebook account, again using the injured party’s information.
Detective Sergeant English told the court that hundreds of images of the woman, including 219 doctored ones, were found as part of the search.
‘Oh cool, you’re not living too far away’
Details of these sexually graphic conversations were read to the court. One of these men, who lives in the UK, told gardaí that this person must “really hate” the victim to go to these lengths.
In one message to this man, Flanagan – pretending to be the woman – said her fantasy was for someone to stalk her, break into her home while she was asleep or to kidnap her while she was jogging. Flanagan shared details with this man of the woman’s address, her Eircode and that she has two daughters.
Details of Flanagan’s interactions with 12 other users of the fetish website, who could not be identified by gardaí, were described to the court. These conversations included graphic descriptions of sexual violence, torture, rape and cannibalism.
Flanagan also shared information including the woman’s address, a Google Street View image of her home, and invited the users to come to the woman’s home to rape her. He also told these users that the woman was a single parent with two teenage daughters.
Flanagan, while pretending to be the woman, also asked some users if they were available that night.
Some of these 12 users indicated they lived in Ireland, or in towns or cities near to the woman’s address, the court heard. Flanagan replied: “Oh cool, you’re not living too far away”, when one man said he lived nearby.
Another user, who also indicated they lived near to the woman replied “good, secure, abandoned buildings to have some fun in”, when Flanagan referred to a particular town. Flanagan also shared a route jogged by the woman with another user.
Under a female alias, Flanagan engaged in similar conversations using Facebook Messenger. He shared photos of the woman, her children, gave out her address, Eircode and shared a screenshot of a route she runs taken from the Strava app.
One of the exchanges on Facebook outlined a roleplay scenario about the rape and torture of the woman and her daughters, while another referred to spiking the children using sleeping tablets.
Detective Sergeant English said this Facebook messaging account came to light during the investigation. Gardaí identified that Flanagan reported it to the social media site as a fake account following the search of his home, but Facebook refused to delete it.
Lawlor said the endangerment charges against Flanagan relate to the invitation to these individuals to carry out violence on the woman which represented a significant risk to her life and those of her children.
In a victim impact statement, the woman’s older daughter said Flanagan had been a family friend for a long time and she now looks back on past events wondering if she missed any signs.
She said she experienced a loss of trust in others and spoke of the impact of this going on in the background while attending school. She also spoke of experiencing nightmares and noted that her mother had tried to protect them from finding out what had happened for as long as possible.
Shane Flanagan’s defence
Flanagan was interviewed six times in February 2022. He made some admissions, including to ownership of the devices. He confirmed knowing the woman and when material was put to him replied “everything you’ve shown me there, that was me”.
He apologised to the woman and admitted communicating with between 20 and 30 individuals while pretending to be the woman. He described it as “harmless roleplay”.
Detective Sergeant English agreed with Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, that his client retired from the gardaí in March this year and had an “unblemished” record of service.
Testimonials from family members, probation and psychological reports were handed to the court.
Dywer read a letter of apology from his client to the court. Flanagan said he felt “deep guilt, shame” and understands now that “I did not just cause fear, I destroyed a sense of fear, dignity and trust” and stole the victims’ peace of mind.
He said “this has been a sobering and painful experience for me” and that he is seeking help to address his issues.
Defence counsel asked the court to take into account his client’s guilty pleas, the contents of the reports and that his time in custody will be more onerous as he was a garda. Flanagan was suspended from the force in 2021, retiring in March this year.
Dwyer noted the reports refer to his client as suffering with suicidal ideation. His client is assessed at low to medium risk of re-offending.
Counsel said a protective factor is “the absence of hostility to women” and his client’s actions appeared “rooted in imagination or fantasy, not reality”, though in this case, the actions “did translate into more than just a fantasy”.
Ms Justice Eileen Creedon remanded Flanagan in custody for finalisation of sentence next month.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Q&A: What we know (and don't know) about the EU-US tariff deal
1 hr ago
3.0k
39
beirut
Man sentenced to death by Lebanon court over killing of Irish soldier Private Seán Rooney
27 mins ago
6.4k
Scotland
'A good deal for everybody': US and EU reach 15% tariff deal after Trump-von der Leyen meeting
Updated
27 Jul
57.1k
208
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 214 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage . Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework. The choices you make regarding the purposes and vendors listed in this notice are saved and stored locally on your device for a maximum duration of 1 year.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Social Media Cookies
These cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 149 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 195 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 158 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 119 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 120 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 51 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 48 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 177 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 78 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 111 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 116 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 51 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 65 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 36 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 122 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 126 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 94 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 67 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 116 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 103 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say