Cllrs lend their support to Mayo assault victim
Former Garda Margaret Loftus Rouse said there are institutional challenges faced by victims of domestic abuse
Castlebar councillors have voiced their support for a Mayo woman who they said was denied justice following an attack by her former partner.
Balla woman Margaret Loftus-Rouse was attacked by Trevor Bolger in Mayo in 2012. They were both serving gardaí at the time. Bolger, who is currently suspended from the force, was convicted of an assault offence after more serious charges of threats to kill and coercion were dropped following a plea agreement.
Ms Loftus-Rouse criticised the plea deal, saying it made her feel like "justice was never going to be in the spirit of what justice should be".
The maximum sentence for the assault offence is six months in prison. Bolger received a three-month suspended sentence.
Ms Loftus-Rouse, who now lives in Ballina, said the day she learned of the plea deal was "one of the hardest days along this whole journey".
"It hit me like a bus. I told them when they delivered that news that I was insulted by it, and I got very upset by it because I knew then, and especially a plea deal for this and full facts not to be given was just an extra blow."
She said the process had taken many years and left her "very dismayed that this is the judicial process that is available to victims".
“Margaret has my full support. She was in my class at school and she and her family deserve better than what happened in that court,” said Cllr Donna Sheridan at a meeting of Castlebar Municipal District. “I hope she gets justice and that her bravery is acknowledged.
“This was a horrific act and I don’t believe there was any justice served,” she added.
Her fellow councillors also spoke out in support of Margaret.
“It’s one of the worst cases I have read in terms of law and order in this country,” said Cllr Harry Barrett. “If this can happen to Margaret Loftus, a woman from our own electoral area, a member of An Garda Síochána, a woman who knew the system from the inside, it can happen to any woman. This is not good enough. It’s a public failure."
He proposed that the council call on the Minister for Justice to undertake a review of sentencing practicing in domestic abuse and assault cases. Cllr Sheridan suggested that Margaret’s views be canvassed before any proposal goes forward which Cllr Barrett agreed to.
- Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
