A garda who was caught looking through the window of the women's changing room at Clifden Garda Station in Co Galway has been sentenced to six months in prison.
Mícheal Mannion, 41, from Toorena, Renvyle, Co Galway, was convicted earlier this year of two charges of harassing two female colleagues at the station.
He had denied the charges.
The offences occurred on several dates between August and November 2019.
During the sentencing hearing at Galway District Court, Judge Marie Keane said a custodial sentence was appropriate.
She said Mannion's behaviour was persistent and bordering on the obsessive.
Describing his actions as "deviant, deeply degrading and humiliating", she said the consequences of it would continue for a considerable period of time.
The judge noted that both victims were getting assistance and had suffered injuries, including psychological trauma and loss of income.
She said both had referred to the impact Mannion's behaviour had on their families.
The garda remains free, pending the outcome of his appeal in the Circuit Court.
Camera footage previously played in court showed Mannion climbing an outdoor steel railing on six occasions, to look into the women's dressing room at Clifden Garda Station.
He has been suspended from duty since the garda investigation into the harassment began.
One of the victims described Mannion's behaviour as "callous and devious".
Judge Keane said the accused had brought this situation entirely upon himself. "He is 100% responsible for his behaviour," she said.
"There is significant social stigma associated with this behaviour and rightly so", she added.
The court was told Mannion was willing to make a €5,000 contribution to a women's charity.
Judge Keane said she understood why the offer had been made but it "was not appropriate in the circumstances".
She said the offence merited a custodial sentence and was "far too serious" to impose a fine.
Judge Keane said the maximum sentence available was 12 months and taking into all account the mitigating factors, Mannion's unblemished career so far, the likely loss of his job and the humiliation he brought to his family and community, the appropriate sentence was one of six months.
The sentences on each charge are to run concurrently.
The two gardaí who Mannion harassed were visibly emotional as they read their victim statements.
In her statement, one woman said everything had changed dramatically for her. She said what happened was a "complete invasion of my privacy" and a "personal attack".
She added: "It was demoralising and hugely disrespectful. Not in my wildest dreams could I have thought the accused would target another female member.
"When I became aware there was multiple incidents involved, it was devastating."
The woman said the incidents have had a major impact of her life.
She told the court she had to report unfit for duty after her mental and physical health declined significantly.
She said: "I struggled to comprehend what the accused had done to me. I was conscious of not letting my colleagues down at work and returned to work in September 2021.
"However, I only lasted a few weeks at work before I had to report unfit for duty."
The woman told the court she suffered chest pains and weight loss due to anxiety and stress.
The woman also recalled the impact on her children and the "embarrassment" of having to tell her husband what happened.
The second woman harassed by Mannion told the court that what happened "changed my life forever".
She said Mannion's offending had a "damming and devastating effect on me and my family".
The woman said the decision to report the incident was not easy, but that she knew there was a duty on her to do so.
"Mícheal Mannion had to be held accountable for what he did and there was a responsibility to prevent this from happening to others", she said.
She said she was suffered "endless sleepless nights", panic attacks, stress, anxiety and low self-esteem.
After Judge Keane said it was concerning the court had not heard directly from Mannion, the garda apologised in person to the victims.
"I am genuinely and sincerely sorry," he said from the witness box.
"You were my colleagues and friends and I'm sorry for what I did," he added.
His barrister said a psychologist's report found that Mannion fell slightly short of a "voyeuristic disorder", but there appears to be a "deeply internalised difficulty" that led to his behaviour.
