A garda who harassed his former lover with nearly 3,000 nuisance phone calls in a nine-month period has been jailed for three years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today.
Austin Woods (42), who has since resigned from the Garda, was also banned by Judge Dominic Lynch from communicating with Ms Collette Johnson (29) for 15 years.
Judge Lynch said he felt he had no option but to impose a custodial sentence because of the hurt and pain Woods caused Ms Johnson over a considerable amount of time. He recommended that Woods underwent counselling whilst in custody.
Woods, with addresses at Nephin Road, Cabra, Dublin, and Shanmullagh, Hackballscross, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassing Ms Johnson by continuously communicating and pestering her by telephone and to persistently making use of telecommunications to cause annoyance, anxiety and inconvenience to her between June 13th, 1999, and March 6th, 2000
Judge Lynch imposed consecutive sentences of two and one years on the charges.