A woman with cancer has told a court that she believed a garda, whom she described as "a monster", was going to kill her during a litany of verbal, physical, mobile phone and online abuse over a period of three-and-a-half years.
The 42-year-old garda, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded guilty to a charge of coercive control.
He also admitted 19 other offences, which were taken into account, including harassment, reckless endangerment, assault, and threats, including a threat to kill.
The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the garda tortured and terrorised the woman and used his position to terrify her family and isolate her from everyone she knew.
He sent her over 31,000 threatening, abusive, angry, degrading and demeaning texts and phone communications. In one day, he sent 700 texts.
These included using foul language, calling her names, threatening her, her family and telling her he hoped she "died of cancer", that she had "blood on her hands" and would "die in pain".
The woman told the court that he stole her cancer medication, which she could not afford to replace.
The medication weakened her and on one occasion when her legs were weak, he left her on a beach where she had to crawl to get home.
Readers may find some of the following detail distressing
On one occasion he turned up at a hospital she was in and told her he only came to watch "bleed to death". The hospital had the garda removed and barred him from returning.
He had already stolen her hospital bag before she was admitted.
The woman lost weight because of her cancer treatment and he poured spoiled milk over the only clothes that fit her.
He told her "I'll stick a f***ing knife in you," and he beat, kicked, punched and choked her on several occasions.
The man dragged her out of the bed by the legs, tried to kick through doors to get to her, locked her in and on one occasion when she escaped to a nearby house, a neighbour called 999.
"He pretended to be the perfect gentleman."
He used his position in An Garda Síochána to manipulate people and State services against her and ran a campaign of terror against her friends and family. The woman said the State services believed him "because he was a guard".
When she first met him, the woman said he was charming and the fact that he was a garda made her trust him.
"He pretended to be the perfect gentleman, [but] he manipulated mutual friends to get information on me."
He told one of her friends that as a garda he was carrying out an investigation and used the job to get information on her friends and family.
"He terrified and threatened" her family and used the garda to intimidate them, the woman said. "He destroyed relationships to isolate me," she said.
The woman said she rang the garda station he was attached to in order to speak to "his boss", but he manipulated a colleague to "redirect the call" to him. She did not use her name, but he knew it was her.
The woman said that every time she saw a garda or drove past a station she felt physically sick.
"I believed all guards were the same. I know now this is not the case," she said.
Detective Inspector Cormac Brennan from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation detailed a series of violent incidents, including where the garda stole the woman's car and house keys, broke into her apartment a number of times and damaged walls, furniture, the television and the parquet floor.
On two occasions she ran from her home after she was physically attacked, including being kicked and beaten by him. On one occasion, she was picked up by a passing taxi and by a woman who lived nearby the other time.
"Slowly and surely he broke me down. I was fighting cancer and up against a monster trying to take away my life."
The garda followed her in her car and on one occasion drove alongside her on an M50 slipway driving erratically, cutting across her and shouting abuse out the window at her.
He threw a brick at her car, which did not break the window, so he picked it up and broke her headlights with it.
The man took pictures of her naked unbeknownst to her and without her consent and threatened to put them online.
He got access to her Facebook account and demanded she identify each male on it, insisting some be removed.
The garda arrived at her home when she was asleep at night and banged on the window demanding to be let in. The next morning, she discovered he had broken the window.
He pulled her out of bed and kicked her naked on the floor "deliberating aiming at places I had cancer", she said.
The court also heard that as a serving garda he also threatened to go after the woman's friends.
He got the address of one of her friends who had not given it to him and she became so terrified that she "grabbed her kids" and left her home.
'He broke me down'
She left him once but went back after his friend convinced her he had got treatment. The violence and abuse continued.
The woman also criticised "the judgement of other people that allows abusers to get away with it".
"I am ashamed for what I put up with," she said.
"I was one of the strongest girls you could ever meet. I always believed I would never let a man treat me badly, be violent towards me. I never believed it could happen to me.
"I now understand why women put up with it. I understand they don't have a choice.
"Slowly and surely he broke me down. I was fighting cancer and up against a monster trying to take away my life. I thought it only happens in the movies."
The woman also encouraged other victims to come forward.
"I can and have survived him, even with cancer," she said.
Defence Counsel Sean Gillane said the man had worked in other jobs but his ambition was to be a garda and he had served for more than 20 years.
Mr Gillane said the garda accepts "he brought dishonour on himself and the organisation" and has agreed to resign from the force.
He also said the man had mental health issues, including depression and anxiety, and while people can operate for a time personally, socially and professionally without recourse for help and "keep the cork on the bottle" ultimately, "the cork comes out".
Mr Gillane said the garda publicly accepts he is the perpetrator and that he has to answer for the harm he has done.
He has pleaded guilty and has no previous convictions, Mr Gillane said.
Mr Justice Martin Nolan adjourned the sentencing hearing until tomorrow.
