Woman fears ex-partner's ‘next victim may not survive’, court hears

Declan Brennan and Isabel Hayes

A woman who was harassed by her ex-partner, a serially abusive man, has said she fears his next victim may not survive going through what she did.

Dubliner Michael Mooney (41) engaged in “pernicious offences that left a trail of devastation in his wake” in relation to his ex-partner Nicola Sweetman, Judge Roderick Maguire said as he sentenced him to six years' imprisonment on Friday.

Mooney placed a complex tracking device on Ms Sweetman's car and sent her texts telling her he could “meat cleaver everyone to death”, that he could break her father's face and take lumps off her mother.

He also said he could “cut the truth out” of a male friend of hers. Mooney followed her car in his and sent her text messages in real time, including: “Are you having trouble parking?” and “I'm behind you”, which left the woman terrified.

Ms Sweetman told the court that she avoided stopping the car anywhere without lighting or cameras for fear of being seriously harmed.

Mooney, of Ceol na Mara, Rush, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to harassment between June 26, 2024 and January 18, 2025. He also admitted to making a threat to kill or cause serious harm on January 15, 2025.

A local garda told Jane McGowan BL, prosecuting, that on January 17, 2025, Ms Sweetman, whose relationship with Mooney had ended two years prior, got a text from him about her movements in her car. This left her rattled and anxious.

The next day, he texted her again, telling her he was in the car park of her workplace. After she left work, he texted saying, “I am behind you,” and she was terrified. She brought her car to a garage where a complex tracking device was eventually discovered by mechanics.

Tracking device

Mooney later admitted to her in a recorded phone call that he had placed a tracking device in her car.

Ms Sweetman went to gardaí and made a statement in which she outlined a six-month-long campaign of threats. The court heard these involved relentless false accusations about the victim cheating and talking to other men, and threats against her parents and her former partner.

In one text, Mooney told her he would “send lads” around to this man's house and “burn his car out of it”. He texted her the following month to say he had picked up a gun in Ballymun and that he had put a tracker on the man's car.

In a video message, he told her he could smash her mother's face and “send boys up” to her parents' house to break her father's face. He texted her about an old work colleague saying he was “going to rip the face off him with Stanley blades” and that “she was after buying herself the same ticket”.

He sent her a screenshot of a text he sent to a third party asking them, “Do you know any birds that can kick lumps out of [her]?”

The court heard Ms Sweetman was terrified of Mooney and was left living in fear that he would hurt her and her loved ones.

In his victim impact statement, her father also spoke of his fears for his daughter and the strain on his and his wife's mental health.

Mooney has 62 previous convictions, including making threats to kill in July 2020, in relation to an ex-partner. He has 14 convictions for breaching barring orders and convictions for threats to kill in 2018 and 2006.

The victims of the threats to kill included two further ex-partners as well as a district court judge.

Marc Murphy BL, defending, said his client was apologetic. He said Mooney was a victim of a slashing to his face and was aware of the effects of his actions on the victim and her family.

In her victim impact statement, Ms Sweetman said that she was subjected to smear campaigns and violent threats, and these have had “lasting and devastating effects” on her and her family members.

“He intimidates, threatens and isolates women,” she said, noting that Mooney's first victim came forward 20 years ago.

“I now live in a constant state of hyper-vigilance. Even while in custody, I feared he could arrange for someone to harm my family.

“The stress and fear have taken a serious toll on my health. We were forced to leave our home due to safety concerns,” she said.

She said she endured abuse during and after the relationship with Mooney, including humiliation, stalking and terrifying threats.

She said she felt trapped in the relationship and believed that staying with him was “the safest option”.

“Compliance felt like safety,” she said. She said Mooney chose to “destroy our lives” because she left him and noted the many breaches of protective and safety orders.

“I am deeply concerned he will continue this behaviour. His disregard for the law is clear. He evaded arrest for months.

“Any apology from him at this point is insincere. I genuinely fear his next victim may not be as fortunate to survive this”.

Passing down sentence, Judge Roderick Maguire said the trauma inflicted on Ms Sweetman was deeper and longer-lasting, given that it occurred in the wake of an intimate relationship.

He said Mooney left her isolated from her community and living in constant vigilance for herself and her loved ones. Her victim impact statement was “harrowing”, the judge said.

Even though Mooney is currently in custody, serving a 15-month sentence for a previous threat to kill, the judge noted Ms Sweetman still fears he will get someone to harm her, as he has previously threatened to do.

He noted Mooney's plea of guilty saved his victim from the trauma of testifying at trial, but noted he laid the blame on drug-taking, of which there was no evidence before the court. He has limited insight into his offending, the judge said and is “a man who is hard to see clearly”.

He set a headline sentence of seven-and-a-half years, which he reduced to six years, taking mitigating factors into account. He set the sentence to start from today, noting this will somewhat reduce his time in custody for the threat to kill sentence.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Women’s Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Men’s Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information. 

Safe Ireland also offers a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.