Garda Tom Flavin Acquitted of All Charges in Justice Perversion Trial

 Limerick, June 7 — Garda Tom Flavin, a long-serving officer based in County Limerick, has been acquitted of all 22 charges alleging attempts to pervert the course of justice in relation to motoring offences. The unanimous verdict was delivered today by a jury at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court following an eight-day trial.

The jury returned not guilty verdicts on 17 charges, while the trial judge, Judge Colin Daly, had earlier directed not guilty findings on five additional counts. Garda Flavin had consistently denied all allegations throughout the proceedings and was supported in court by a large group of family, friends, and colleagues.

The charges stemmed from a criminal investigation by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI), which alleged that Garda Flavin had knowingly entered false motor insurance details into the Pulse computer system to prevent prosecutions of individuals for driving without insurance.

According to the prosecution, the motorists were stopped at routine Garda checkpoints across the country and were directed to present their documents at a designated Garda station within ten days. All of the drivers reportedly chose Rathkeale Garda Station, where Garda Flavin was based at the time. Subsequent checks allegedly showed that insurance details were recorded in Pulse, even in cases where drivers were later found to have been uninsured.

Prosecution counsel Fiona Murphy SC argued that Garda Flavin had "sorted out" the drivers by manipulating Pulse entries. “The prosecution relies on indirect evidence,” she told the jury, describing the case as “a circumstantial case” with “no direct evidence.”

In his closing arguments on Thursday, Mark Nicholas SC, defending, dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated, urging the jury not to convict based on inference. “There was no evidence of wrongdoing by the accused,” he asserted.

Mr Nicholas portrayed Garda Flavin as “an exemplary garda who had served with dedication in Croom and Rathkeale, Co Limerick, for many years.” He told the jury, “He served his community without blemish and without any disciplinary blots – you know that from the evidence. When other Gardai came to give evidence, his superiors, they spoke of him very fondly and well – it wasn’t far off gushing and they spoke with knowledge.”

Highlighting the unique operational challenges in Rathkeale, Mr Nicholas noted, “People who live down here know it has an enormous population, transient, in and out at various times of the year. One policeman said [the population] quadruples, and with that comes its own set of problems and own sets of vehicles – UK car registrations, UK insurance, some not insured, some not being entirely truthful.”

He further stated, “We know that a certain number of times people who were pulled up and stopped and asked for their documentation, produced bogus insurance certificates.”

Referring to the core allegation, Mr Nicholas described the charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice as "an extraordinarily serious allegation to make against a serving Garda,” arguing that the prosecution had “nothing close” to proving its case.

The court heard that although documents were presented at Rathkeale Garda Station, it remained unclear who submitted them or what precisely was submitted. This ambiguity, the defence suggested, further weakened the State’s case.

In the end, the jury agreed. After careful deliberation, they unanimously acquitted Garda Flavin, bringing an end to a case that had raised serious questions about both procedural evidence and the burdens of proof required in cases involving serving law enforcement officers.