Judge gives barrister three years for harrassment
25/07/2012 - 12:41:59A former barrister who left over 120 “creepy” and “sexually intimidating” voicemail messages on a younger colleague’s mobile phone has been sentenced to three years.
Paul McLoughlin (aged 50) of North Circular Road, changed his plea to guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after two days of evidence during which the jury heard 62 recordings of those voicemail messages.
He had initially denied harassing barrister Lorcan Staines (aged 30) between May 1, 2006 and May 14, 2010.
Judge Patricia Ryan imposed a three-year term but suspended the final year after taking into account McLoughlin’s guilty plea and expressions of remorse. She ordered he undergo 18 months probation supervision on his release and stay away from Mr Staines for 15 years.
She noted Mr Staines felt “goaded and taunted” into making a complainant to gardaí and that McLoughlin continued to harass him even after being warned by gardaí and later arrested.
Mr Staines was not in court when sentence was handed down.
McLoughlin has no previous convictions and although he was a barrister at the time, he is no longer practicing.
During the trial last May the jury heard the voicemail messages which Mr Staines had recorded, some of which repeatedly stated “I want you to be my boyfriend”.
Another message said: “You are not available to take my calls, but you are available to play with my emotions.” The phrase “fatal attraction” appeared many times in the messages.
Having listened to the messages in court for over two hours, Mr Staines became visibly upset, saying he felt he had been “goaded” into taking the case to court.
He repeatedly said he found the behaviour “creepy” and also “sexually intimidating”.
Sergeant Brendan Brogan told Paul Carroll BL, prosecuting, that in other voice mail messages McLoughlin told Mr Staines he should look left and right the next time he was in the toilet, while others mentioned his date of birth.
In another message he said he was in Galway walking where Mr Staines once had walked when he attended college there.
Sgt Brogan said in some of the final voicemails, McLoughlin referred to Sgt Brogan as Mr Staines’ “henchman” and “private army”, while others stated “I am outside a restaurant on Dame Street awaiting my arrest” and “I am awaiting Sgt Brogan”.
These voicemails were received after McLoughlin had been questioned on three separate occasions and arrested twice.
The court heard that McLoughlin was warned by gardaí in September 2009 not to contact Mr Staines again after the barrister contacted the gardaí following three years of harassment. Mr Staines did not make a formal complaint.
He did however make a formal complaint two months later after McLoughlin continued to harass him and McLoughlin was arrested but not charged.
He was arrested a second time six months later, in May 2011, and charged after he again resumed calling Mr Staines late at night and leaving aggressive voicemail messages.
At this point McLoughlin was released on bail but that bail was revoked in November 2011 when he continued to harass the victim.
He went into custody voluntarily but was later released on bail to attend residential treatment for his alcohol addiction. He remained on bail until the trial and did not contact Mr Staines again.
McLoughlin, who was placed in an orphanage at six months old, took the stand to apologise to Mr Staines for the “unjustified and unnecessary stress and hurt I have caused him and his family”.
“As I sat in court listening to him my heart froze. It penetrated into the core of my being. Having listened to the messages I realised the serious grievous wrong I had done,” McLoughlin said.
He explained that he then decided to instruct his barristers that he wished to change his plea to guilty.
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