A garda who pleaded guilty to coercively controlling his wife has been described as having an old-fashioned attitude to marriage and treating his wife like his "chattel", his property.
Judge Keenan Johnson said David Reynolds, from Mullingar in Co Westmeath, controlled the finances, had a tracker on his wife's phone and expected her to stay at home.
The father-of-three has been suspended from An Garda Síochána since his guilty plea on the beginning of his trial for coercive control in January.
Ashley Masterson waived her anonymity at Mullingar Circuit Court to ensure Reynolds could be named, saying she has been "emotionally scarred" by the relationship.
Reynolds made 13 hours of audio recordings of conversations and arguments with his wife on his phone, which were discovered by gardaí when he was arrested.
The court was told the recordings included "mundane conversations" and arguments which escalated and de-escalated quickly, both being abusive in some of the audios.
Sergeant Orla Keenan, of Mullingar Garda Station, agreed with the prosecution that Reynolds can be heard accusing Ashley Masterson of lying, of infidelity, of being with a friend he did not approve of and stopping her from leaving the house to socialise.
The couple could be heard shouting at each other, with sounds of the arguments becoming physical.
Some recordings continued after the arguments when Reynolds could be heard sobbing.
"All I can hope for is for things to improve but I live with that feeling of dread that this is as good as life gets"
Ashley Masterson said "the control and bullying" by her former husband has left her emotionally scarred with trust issues.
In her victim impact statement, read to the court on her behalf, she said: "I have been left with constant fatigue, stress and anxiety."
She said she is "financially ruined" and struggles with day-to-day living.
"All I can hope for is for things to improve, but I live with that feeling of dread that this is as good as life gets.
"I feel like I’ve lost my own personality and nearly hate going places and seeing how happy and normal other family units are," she said.
In conclusion she thanked her family, women’s support services in Mullingar, Women’s Link Longford and her friend Emma English, now deceased, saying "without her I would not have the courage to be here today".
Andrea Callan BL, said her client David Reynolds is accepting that his behaviour was not appropriate.
She said he was a garda for 17 years, 10 of those spent working in the traffic division in Dublin Castle, commuting from the Midlands adding "pressure" to the situation.
Ms Callan said he is now working in construction and has become very isolated as a result of these proceedings.
Judge Johnson said a number of issues needed to be taken into account when sentencing Reynolds including the loss of his position as a member of An Garda Síochána.
He said the relationship was volatile and there were mental health issues by both parties.
He said Reynolds had anger management issues and had been manipulative.
He adjourned sentencing until 6 October to allow time for the preparation of counselling reports, remanding Reynolds on bail.
