Teacher faces sanction over criminal conviction for harassing gardaí

Seán McCárthaigh

A secondary school teacher is facing sanction, including possible striking-off, over his criminal conviction for harassing three gardaí in Waterford through anonymous letters which falsely accused them of various misconduct, including sexual impropriety, drug use and corruption.

The registered teacher, Lee Hutchinson, appeared before a fitness-to-teach inquiry of the Teaching Council on Thursday over his conviction by Waterford Circuit Criminal Court in June 2023.

Hutchinson (43) from Dunmore East, Co Waterford, attended the hearing before an inquiry panel via videolink from Loughan House open prison in Co Cavan where he is currently serving his prison sentence.

Counsel for the Teaching Council, Brian Gageby BL, outlined how the teacher had been given a six-year sentence with the final 12 months suspended after he had pleaded guilty to three counts of harassing different gardaí, contrary to Section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.

Gageby said the offences against the three gardaí, who cannot be identified by direction of the inquiry panel, had occurred between May 2014 and September 2018.

Detective Inspector Siobhán Keating gave evidence that the first of several anonymous letters was sent to Dunmore East garda station in May 2014 addressed to the then Garda Commissioner, Nóirín O’Sullivan.

The author of the letter said it was being sent on behalf of her husband, family, and people of the area about Garda C whom they claimed was giving “free rein” to people to commit illegal activities including drink-driving in return for racing tips.

The letter claimed Garda C also regularly asked a named individual to get cocaine for him, although he did not usually pay for the drugs.

It also accused the garda of having an unhealthy interest in a teenage girl in the area and making vulgar comments about her.

The letter said Garda C was claiming that his colleague, Garda A, would share information with a former garda and his wife who was “a gossip” as well as in a well-known pub outside Waterford.

It claimed that Garda C described his colleague as an alcoholic who often came to work smelling of alcohol.

He was also accused of describing another member of the force, Garda B, as rather incompetent and someone who was regarded by locals as nasty and rude.

The letter suggested that Garda C was also in the pay of a construction company and a Fine Gael councillor.

It claimed Garda C had no problem with a local couple dealing drugs as he got sexual favours from them.

The author claimed they were prompted to write the letter after Garda B had tipped off customers in a pub about a Garda checkpoint for drink-driving.

They said they had not signed the letter as their husband, a retired GP, feared reprisals from the three gardaí.

Det Insp Keating said she became involved in the investigation as a result of another letter being sent to Waterford garda station on August 5th 2018, which was addressed to all three gardaí.

The letter claimed they were “dead men walking” because they had “blood on their hands” for covering up criminal activity.

It also described them as “criminal, corrupt, pervert, nonce bastards.”

Det Insp Keating said Garda A’s wife, who worked as a clerical officer with An Garda Síochána, also received an anonymous letter on September 3, 2018 which claimed she was married to a “bisexual pervert” who was responsible for a recent murder.

The letter also said her husband was a “servant” of a local hotelier for which he got free alcohol, cocaine and “sleazy sex with men and women of all ages.”

It also warned the woman to keep her sons out of shops in Dunmore East.

The inquiry heard a school principal also contacted gardaí in September 2018 after receiving an anonymous letter which suggested that parents were alarmed about the presence of Garda B at the school gate and that they might remove their daughters from the school.

Det Insp Keating told the inquiry that she obtained a warrant to search Mr Hutchinson’s home where she seized a number of items containing his handwriting, including a copy of a letter addressed to the wife of Garda B.

The letter claimed Garda B had joined a dating site for people wanting casual sex as well as informing his wife that he had cheated on her in the past.

The inquiry also heard about the impact of the anonymous letters on the three gardai and the distress and hurt it had caused them and their families.

Garda A told investigators that there was “a clear, persistent intent to interfere with my peace of mind and privacy” which had impacted on his health and wellbeing.

Garda B described the anonymous correspondence as “offensive, untrue and worrying,” while Garda C said it had caused him significant stress and anguish.

The inquiry heard that the Court of Appeal varied the original sentence because of an error by the trial judge but the net effect was that Hutchinson was still required to serve a prison term of five years.

Cross-examination of Det Insp Keating by the teacher did not proceed as a result of a number of issues raised by him about access to documents.

The chairperson of the inquiry, Clodagh O’Hara, adjourned the hearing until another date to be fixed later this month.