Garda to be sentenced for 'protracted assault' on Mayo wife

by Niamh O'Donoghue

A garda who carried out a “protracted assault” on his then wife, who was also a member of the force, is to be sentenced later at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Trevor Bolger (48), who was previously attached to Ballymun Garda Station, pleaded guilty to assaulting Margaret Loftus on October 25, 2012.

Ms. Loftus read a victim impact statement to the court in which she described the effects the “protracted assault” had on her.

She said Bolger violently assaulted her that night. “I lost everything,” she said. She said she had a strong sense of truth and justice.

“After this assault it also impacted personal relationships I had within the guards- there was a stigma attached to me – for standing up for myself.”

She said it was “used against me while I tried to seek justice for myself” and was as “damaging as the assault itself”.

Ms. Loftus also thanked the members of gardai who investigated the case.

“It has taken 13 years of my life to get to where we are today but truth and justice must prevail,” she added.

“Trevor Bolger, you have done your level best to destroy me …every day you have broken me,” she said.

“By your own admissions here today .. you are an abuser and a perpetrator of domestic violence,” she said.

She said as a victim of domestic violence she would like to encourage others to come forward.

Detective Garda Rioghnach O’Sullivan told the court that in October 2012 the then couple had travelled to her home county in Balla, Co. Mayo, for a family event.

Bolger was irate because Ms Loftus spoke to her family and did not stay by his side and he sat at the bar drinking for the night, the court was told.

When they returned home to her childhood bedroom in which they were staying, he hit her in the back and grabbed her by the hair while she begged him not to hurt her.

She described it as a “protracted assault” which was “terrifying” and she feared that if she had stayed with him she would have been killed so ended the marriage the next day.

Det Gda O’Sullivan told the court that the following afternoon “she had her father stand beside her while she told him [Bolger] that their marriage was over”.

Bolger was interviewed voluntarily in December 2018 and twice denied he had engaged in an assault on Ms Loftus.

Cathleen Noctor SC, defending, said her client had been treated for anxiety and depression and had entered a psychiatric hospital following the event.

He had brought €6,000 in compensation which he handed over to the court.

The court heard that Bolger remarried in 2021. A number of testimonials were before the court including one from a retired Inspector.

Counsel said Bolger had made a positive contribution to society over his 20-year career. She also asked the judge to have regard to his own circumstances and that his mental health difficulties are ongoing.

Bolger was promoted to the rank of detective and was attached to Howth Garda Station in August 2018.

He was suspended in December 2018 and was sent forward for trial on indictment in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Bolger has no previous convictions.

Judge Martina Baxter described it as an egregious assault. She said because it is spousal abuse she was going to ask for the assistance of the Probation Service. Bolger is to be sentenced in October.

She remanded him on continuing bail noting Ms Noctor’s submission that custody was harder for Bolger because of the role he had at the time and the responsibility that comes with that.

The court heard the maximum penalty for the assault, under Section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act which is normally dealt with summarily in the district court , is six months imprisonment or a fine.

Judge Baxter said she would disagree with Ms Noctor’s assertion that the Circuit Court rarely deals with summary offences.

She told Ms Noctor that there would be more weight on her submissions on the passage of time since the offence.

Ms Noctor asked the court to have regard to her client's apology, his expression of remorse, and testimonials before the court including one from a retired Garda Inspector, Nick Mulligan, who Ms Noctor said “has known my client for the whole time he had a career in An Garda Siochana.”

Judge Baxter queried whether those who had provided testimonials knew why they were asked to do so.

“I have instructions that they do all know,” said Ms Noctor.