A primary school teacher mounted a two-year campaign of harassment in which she wrote letters to Hiqa alleging that a care worker who worked with vulnerable families was abusing patients, the Court of Appeal has heard.
At the Court of Appeal on Monday, Mr Justice John Edwards raised concerns over the racist element in the harassment, as Eimear Carroll (42) repeatedly referred to the injured party as “a knacker” in the letters she sent.
Carroll, of Hillside, Seffin, Birr, Offaly, pleaded guilty to one count of harassment and two counts of sending by post an article which is obscene, grossly offensive or menacing. She was sentenced in July of this year by Judge Catherine Staines at Clonmel Courthouse to four years with the final two years suspended.
It was the State’s case that she sent approximately 500 letters in total to the injured party’s family, friends and place of work, including letters to Hiqa alleging that the injured party had caused abuse both physical and verbal in the context of her employment.
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Launching an appeal against the severity of the sentence, Dermot Cahill SC, for Carroll, said the trial judge erred by placing the harassment offence at the high end of the scale, setting a headline sentence of six years.
Mr Justice Edwards remarked that there were “very nasty aspects” to this case, with racism expressed through the repeated reference to the injured party as a “knacker”.
Mr Cahill said that there was no actual threat made, while these acts were carried out by a person with psychological problems. He said that the appellant, who was a primary school teacher, “went down a road she should never have gone down” due to her illness.
Mr Justice Edwards said that the offending took place over a lengthy period of time and was not one-off offending, adding that to say Carroll was otherwise of good character was meaningless, as she was carrying out this offending on a continuous basis.
Counsel for the DPP, David Humphries BL, said that the impact on the injured party was quite significant, as the harassment involved the use of personal details.
He went on to point out that this was persistent harassment over a two-year period, with letters sent on a weekly basis accusing the injured party of spreading sexual diseases, as well as letters sent to Hiqa alleging the abuse of patients.
“This would have a devastating effect on anybody,” said Mr Humphries, telling the court that the injured party sold her house and moved to the west of Ireland to get away from the letters. He said he could see no merit in the defence’s contention that there was no significant reduction in the headline sentence.
Mr Justice Edwards again referenced the racist dimension to this offending.
“The reference to a ‘knacker’ is a pejorative term to describe Travellers, it’s a racist slur,” said Mr Justice Edwards.
Mr Justice Edwards said the court would reserve judgment in the case.
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