A Wicklow man who received information taken from the Garda Pulse system by a former civilian employee of An Garda Síochána has been sentenced to one year in prison.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Daniel Webb (33) of Charlesland, Greystones, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty to two counts of active and passive corruption at unknown locations on September 6th and 9th, 2019.
He has no previous convictions.
Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Orla Crowe said this offending involved “interfering with an intelligence resource of An Garda Síochána”.
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Judge Crowe said the accused “obtained information that he was not entitled to do so” and that these were “unusual offences that don’t usually come before the court”.
The judge said the threshold for a custodial sentence had been reached and that the maximum penalty open to her was 10 years in prison. She set a headline sentence of three years.
Judge Crowe said the mitigating factors in this case were the early guilty pleas by the accused, his young age, his remorse and that the probation report placed him at low risk of reoffending. He also has no previous convictions.
Judge Crowe sentenced him to two years in prison on each count to run concurrently, with the final 12 months suspended for two years.
At a previous hearing, Det Sgt James King told Diana Stuart, prosecuting, that in January 2020, gardaí received confidential information that a civilian employee of An Garda Síochána, Holly Hayden (27), who was working at the Dún Laoghaire District Office, was relaying confidential information from the Garda Pulse system to third parties outside of the station.
An investigation took place, and her work area and home were searched. A mobile phone was seized during the search, and a forensic download took place. Messages from Hayden to Webb were found on both the WhatsApp and Telegram apps.
The court heard that Webb was then identified, and messages showed Hayden sent a document containing information from the Pulse system about another individual on September 6th, 2019, to Webb.
On September 9th, 2019, she provided a synopsis of information from the Pulse system, which she had been instructed to download via the messaging app Telegram. She received cocaine in exchange for providing information on both of these occasions.
The court heard that 17 lines of intelligence in total were sent, which related to Webb and people associated with him. Screenshots of the Pulse system were also sent to Webb. The court heard that Hayden also sent information to another third party and gave information about the location of garda checkpoints.
Judge Orla Crowe asked if copies of the information taken from the Pulse system were available and these were handed into the court.
Det Sgt King said a search warrant was issued for Webb’s home and car. Webb arrived home during the search and co-operated fully with the gardaí. His mobile phone was seized. The court heard that the maximum sentence available is 10 years in prison.
James Dwyer, defending, said his client met Hayden in his local pub after she approached him. They began to communicate on WhatsApp in May 2019. He said that Hayden sent information to his client about him and his associates and sent information to a third party relating to garda movement and checkpoints.
Det Sgt King agreed with counsel that messages from his client’s phone show that, at one point, he encouraged Hayden not to look up more information.
Mr Dwyer handed in character references for his client from his GP, a member of the Bar Council of Ireland, his family’s neighbours, a woman his mother worked for, and family members. His parents were also in court to support him. The letter from his parents described Webb as “warm, generous and loving” and said he is “adored by his siblings”.
Counsel said there were seven clean urine analyses before his client’s court.
He said a probation report was available, indicating when this offence occurred, Webb was at the peak of his drug use, spending up to €200 a night on cocaine and Xanax. The reports put him at a low risk of reoffending, and he is in stable employment.
He said this was a crime of the “utmost seriousness where the Pulse system has been compromised”. He asked the court to consider the clean urine reports, the lack of previous convictions, and his early guilty plea when sentencing.
Judge Crowe had previously adjourned the case facing Webb’s co-accused until November 6th for finalisation.