Married man (54) harassed woman for ten years and filmed her while she was showering

Sunday World

4 days ago

Francis Cullen (54) filmed the woman on his phone through bathroom window while she was showering in her home
A 54-year-old man who subjected a woman to ten years of harassment, leaving her in 'constant fear' of what he would do next, was jailed for four years by Judge John Aylmer at Carrick-on-Shannon Circuit Court on Monday.
Married father of three, Francis Cullen, formerly of Cloonaquinn, Manorhamilton, Co.Letirim and now living at Barran, Blacklion, Co. Cavan pleaded guilty to two counts of harassing the woman between November 11 2015 and January 24 2024. A further count of intimidation was to be taken into consideration.
Among the incidents Cullen committed was filming the woman while she was showering in her home on his mobile phone as he was masturbating.
Three videos were later discovered by investigating gardaí on his phone, all taken of the woman naked in her bathroom while he was outside masturbating.
Another one of the incidents was Cullen exposing himself through a gap in a hedge he created by removing a tree and could be seen by the woman in her kitchen.
The victim frequently saw Cullen standing at the gable of her house either partially or fully naked while she was in her home.
Francis Cullen at court in Carrick-on-Shannon. Pic: Carl Brennan.
News in 90 Seconds - Wednesday, July 30
Gardaí also discovered photographs of every room in the victim's home on Cullen's phone. He also turned up outside her place of work in Sligo and she also saw him while dropping off her young daughter to school.
In her Victim Impact Statement, which she read to the court, she said it was a 'terrifying ordeal' for her family and she does not think she will ever recover from the terror and dread Cullen has caused her.
She said she had no idea why she was singled out by this 'evil, perverse attacker', which she said it made it harder for her and her husband to understand.
Mr Edward Sweetman BL with Ms Niamh McGovern State Solicitor were prosecuting, while Mr Colm Smyth SC, with Mr Eoin McGovern, instructed by McGovern Walsh Solicitors appeared for Cullen.
Mr Sweetman told the court that there were two Books of Evidence, one related to harassment on dates ranging from November 1 2015 and May 5 2023, while the other harassment count ranged from September 19 2023 and January 2 2024. There were pleas to the harassment counts on a full facts basis.
The intimidation charge was to be taken into consideration.
The court heard that Cullen also committed some of the offences while on bail.
Sergeant Enda Browne of Manorhamilton Garda Station outlined the evidence, led by Mr Sweetman.
The sergeant said that the first statement from the victim was taken in March 2023. He said Detective Garda Mark Benson had detailed a catalogue of the incidents the woman suffered at the hands of Cullen during the period of ten years.
The court was told Cullen lived in Cloonaquinn in a rural area of Co Leitrim and the victim lived nearby with her family.
Cullen and his family moved to the area two years after the complainant and her partner. The court heard one of the incidents of exposure occurred when there was a gap in the hedge where a tree was removed and the victim's kitchen window could be seen from the gap.
Sgt Browne said the initial incident was in December 2014 when the victim was showering in her bathroom and she thought there was a person looking in the window.
She went to look and saw a man crouching down who then ran off. Her partner went to investigate and he believed it was Cullen, although he was not identified at that time.
In the winter of 2015, the woman was driving into her driveway when she saw Cullen standing in the rain in the garden with his trousers down and his penis exposed.
He was standing in the direction of her car which had its lights on. He was waving his hand over his head. The woman discussed the incident with her partner.
The court heard that from 2015 to 2021, there was a memo of a number of incidents kept. She frequently saw the defendant standing at the gable of her house either partially naked or fully naked. This happened three to four times a year.
Sgt Browne said that the woman didn't wish at the time to make a formal complaint to gardaí because of the detrimental impact it might have on Cullen's young family.
They decided to live their lives as best they could. The couple believed the accused was monitoring their movements and all the incidents were planned, the court heard.
The woman restricted her movements and locked her doors to their property and did not allow her child to play outside the home.
The court heard the restrictions had a huge impact on the family's enjoyment of their property.
In the summer of 2021, her partner was attending to the garden and Cullen had cut down a tree to make a gap. He was observed standing in the gap with his trousers down. The accused didn't realise the woman was present with her partner and he believed she was on her own.
Sergeant Browne outlined to the court that in January 2023, her teenage daughter received a birthday card that was hand delivered. Written on it was 'from the neighbours and Millie', which was the Cullen family dog. The family photographed the card and put it in the fire. The court was told they found this 'extremely disturbing and sinister'.
Sgt Browne went on to describe how in February 14 2023, a Valentine's card, flowers and chocolates were there when the woman came home.
There was a message on the card that said 'can we ever be friends again and are you going to the big wedding on Friday, maybe see you there'. The accused's phone number was included on the card. The woman's husband returned all the items to the Cullen house and contacted gardaí. The flowers were recovered by gardaí during a search of the Cullen house.
Sergeant Browne said that in another incident on February 15 2023, the woman was taking a shower at 6:30am. She observed a mobile phone with its light on pressed against the outside of her bathroom window. This terrified her and she immediately contacted gardaí.
Gardaí went to the home of Cullen and they found him 'out of breath' when speaking with them. He denied all knowledge of the incident .
On February 28 2023, the woman and her daughter were leaving in their car and there was a sign at the front wall of the Cullen house that said 'I love you' and the victim's name. The box of chocolates, bunch of flowers that the woman's husband had returned were at the door.
On March 3 2023, gardaí carried out a search of the Cullen resident.
The bunch of flowers and a number of other items were found, including a laptop belonging to Cullen.
He was arrested and brought to Carrick-on-Shannon Garda Station and his phone was seized.
He was interviewed by gardaí and made a number of admissions. He admitted sending the card, flowers and chocolates to the woman and her daughter.
He admitted erecting the sign declaring his love in the garden. He admitted entering her home and taking photographs of the interior rooms of the home. Cullen told gardaí he 'wanted to see the cards on display' that he had sent the woman.
He admitted that in December 2014 he entered the property during the night and was almost caught by the woman's partner outside the bathroom window where he was on the ground and he had to run.
He admitted to gardaí that his family were aware of his behaviour and aware that he was constantly looking at the victim's family's 'comings and goings'. He said his family were 'aware it might become a problem'.
He made admissions of taking photographs of the victim's house when it was unoccupied. Mr Sweetman asked Sergeant Browne what explanation did Cullen have. Cullen denied he was in love with the woman. He said he was in the interior of the home to see the items 'on display in the house'. He denied exposing himself.
He was charged with trespass and was ordered not to have any contact of any kind with the complainant. In March 2023, he was released on district court bail with condition to have no contact with the victim.
On April 7 2023, the victim reported a man wearing a balaclava was standing outside the gable of his house looking towards her house and was walking around. When asked what impact this had on the woman, Sgt Browne said it caused her to be in fear and she believed it was an attempt to intimidate her. On May 28 2023, at 11:30am, the woman was driving to her house with her young daughter and they could see the bare backside of Cullen 'mooning' them from the sitting room of his house. Gardaí called and spoke to him and he denied it.
Cullen went on to say that the woman was 'making accusations' because she was a 'woman scorned' and ever since he sent the birthday card to the victim's daughter, she was 'angry with him'. Cullen said that now that her daughter was the 'focus' of his attention and 'not her' that she was angry. He said he had no romantic intentions with the daughter.
Sgt Browne told the court that on March 3 2023, a mobile phone belonging to Cullen was seized and examined by gardaí. They discovered three videos of the victim in her bathroom naked.
On January 28 2023 at 6:53am, there was a video three minutes long that showed the victim naked in her bathroom and it was evident Cullen was recording her on his phone by placing his phone in the open bathroom window.
There was 'heavy breathing' and the sound of a zipper closing or opening which could be heard on the audio recording.
The second video as taken on February 7 2023 at 6:51am. It lasted six minutes and 45 seconds and the woman was naked in her bathroom and had just finished using the shower. It was evident Cullen had recorded her by placing his phone in the open bathroom window. Sounds of 'heavy breathing' could be heard and it was suspected Cullen was masturbating while recording the woman.
The third video was taken on February 15 2023 at 6:40am and lasted five minutes. The victim was in her bathroom naked and it was evident from the video the woman had discovered the mobile phone and approached to investigate.
When she approaches, the screen goes dark and there was a person heard running in the audio which corresponded to responding gardaí who stated that Cullen was out of breath which was consistent with someone running.
Cullen was invited to Sligo Garda Station in June 2023 to view the vidoes. He attended at the station but left abruptly three minutes later without viewing any of the material. Sgt Browne told the court that photographs of every room in the victim's house were also on his phone. On June 2 2023, Cullen was arrested and further charged and was refused bail at Ballyshannon District Court following garda objections.
He was subsequently given High Court bail in June 2023 to reside outside Co Leitrim and abide by a curfew.
Sgt Browne said while on High Court bail, Cullen 'continued his campaign of harassment'.
The woman reported to gardaí on September 19 that while driving to work in Sligo, Cullen was driving behind her for twenty minutes.
This caused her to be in fear. On September 22 at 4:30pm the woman met the accused driving towards her and when she saw him, he waved at her.
This caused her great distress. The next incident on October 4 2023 at 2:35pm, she was driving to the Newtownmanor area and met the accused who waved at her again causing her distress.
On October 17 2023, while the victim was dropping her daughter to school she met the accused driving his van near the school. He was further charged with harassment.
On October 18 2023, the woman was driving from Sligo to Manorhamilton and met Cullen who waved at her. She felt the accused was trying to intimidate her by effectively trying to communicate with her.
Judge Alymer asked the sergeant if the accused was in Co Leitrim and the sergeant replied that he was allowed to transit through to sign on at Sligo Garda Station. On October 26, the victim made a statement that she observed Cullen outside her workplace in Sligo at 9am, around the time she was due to arrive at the office to attend work. She had to pass him on a narrow footpath and this caused her to be in fear. The court was told that Cullen worked in a factory in Manorhamilton.
On October 27 2023, the victim observed Cullen outside her workplace at 9am and she photographed him and he was arrested by gardaí for breach of bail.
The judge subsequently amended his bail conditions barring him entering Sligo until 9pm. Sgt Browne said the victim had attended court that day and gave evidence. On January 18 2024, the woman made a statement to Detective Garda Mark Benson that
Cullen had viewed her profile on Linkedin on the 11th, 16th, 17th and 18th of January. When her Linkedin profile is viewed, she explained that she received a notification. She said she believed Cullen was viewing her profile knowing she would receive a notification and she believed it was an attempt to communicate with her and cause her distress.
Sgt Browne said Cullen was identifiable by his name and he was clearly identifiable. The sergeant also outlined that on January 18 2024, she suspected there were a number of calls to her office that were 'hang up calls' but there was no evidence of these. Cullen was arrested again on January 22 2024 and a gardaí obtained a search warrant for his mobile phone which was later examined.
Numerous images of the victim's home and the interior of the house were found and three images of the woman which gardaí believe came from her Linkedin profile. On February 27 2024, Cullen was arrested by Dt Gda Benson and interviewed. He made a number of admissions.
He admitted he was outside with his phone recording while the woman was in the bathroom and that he was masturbating. He said he had 'frequent urges' to see the complainant. He told gardaí he believed 'she liked him'. He stated he loved her and admitted he knew where she worked and admitted he met her near her work outside on the street.
He admitted the recordings were for his own 'sexual gratification'. Cullen admitted waving at her as she drove to Sligo and he hoped to meet her on the road. He told gardaí that when she photographed him outside her work 'she nailed me with the camera out'.
The court heard that in March 2023, Cullen was on bail and from that time, there were a number of further allegations and subsequent incidents. Cullen had no previous convictions and Sgt Browne said he would not have previously come to garda attention.
He worked in a factory in Manorhamilton and was also a farmer and was married with three children. The sergeant said the last incident was January 20 2024. The woman then read out her Victim Impact Statement.
She said that trying to write down the words was terrifying for the ordeal she endured for the last decade and reading it in public was extremely difficult.
She said that knowing the individual responsible for her fears would be watching and listening filled her with terror and dread and she prayed she would hold her nerve to describe some of the evil endured by her and her family over the past ten years.
She said she thought that when writing about it might add to her ordeal but the deciding factor was that if she had not, she would regret it in the future if she did not document the 'terror and evil' the individual instilled on both her and her family and she said she cannot see a way to recover.
She said she tries to make some sense of why she was targeted and attacked, saying she had no idea why she was singled out by this 'evil and perverse attacker'. She said that made it harder for them to understand.
She outlined how twenty years ago they had bought their family home. They worked hard on their 'dream family home' and the area was rural and quiet and even though both she and her partner worked in Sligo, they loved the location and their first ten years in the home were very happy and described their home as a 'sanctuary'. The greatest joy was the birth of their daughter in 2010.
But that all changed drastically with a frightening variety of attacks which all started with an early-morning invasion in December 2014 which was followed by an escalation of attacks endured over ten years. The woman said she was in 'constant fear' of what would happen next and their family life was 'destroyed'.
They were living in a state of constant fear and her confidence and peace of mind was shattered. She described it as 'exhausting' the targetted attacks.
She said it was a destruction of her life and described how Cullen had exposed himself first to herself and then her young daughter. She had to check that her doors were locked and going outside was no longer safe because of the evil he was capable of. The woman said her home became a prison. She said it was frightening the nature of the attacks.
She said they had to limit the activity with their daughter to safeguard her and having her friends over had to be something that was planned 'over and over'. They were in constant fear for their daughter when away from home and constantly worrying about what Cullen might do.
They often discussed trying to get another mortgage to relocate but said the biggest thing was could they sell and facilitate any potential buyers knowing the potential of Cullen. She said they were trapped in their home. They discussed for years about speaking to gardaí.
She said in January 2023, she said that changed when Cullen tried to destroy her daughter's first teenage birthday. She said she was then in fear for both her life and her daughter's.
She said when they got the gardaí involved, she thought it would bring it to an end, but the incidents moved from her home to her daughter's school and her place of work. She described 'every walking minute' as being filled with fear. She said the attacks on her and her daughter had no let up and instead the attacks were increasing and had escalated to a point where she had problems sleeping. She said the attacks affected their given right to feel safe.
She said the attacks had stolen time with her daughter's childhood that can't be recovered because of Cullen's continual harassment. She said she was petrified every day to step outside. She said one of the vilest acts was Cullen videoing her in her bathroom. She said that not only had he violated her life, he cowardly targetted a mother of a young daughter.
She said it had an emotional, psychological and physical impact on her. She said that the first night in 2014, Cullen hid outside under her daughter's bedroom watching them at night and it shattered her sense of security. She lost the ability to enjoy her garden or walks, thinking Cullen would be nearby waiting to expose himself.
She said the intimidation had an impact on her mental health and she was always on edge. She said she used to be outgoing and her daughter did not know what playing outside was like as they had to keep her safe.
She said her daughter gets anxious whenever she sees a silver van and it fills her with fear. The woman said they had to prevent their daughter from having any social media like her friends which was so wrong as she could not enjoy life because of this 'vile individual'.
She said her peace of mind had been replaced by hypervigilence, dreaded fear and constantly looking over her shoulder. They had to invest in security cameras and said their house which was once their haven was now a prison.
She said there was a 'false narrative' in their area trying to make it look like they must have done something to cause it and the woman said that hopefully the few people that used to give a friendly wave when passing but had now stopped now know the truth and all the family had been through the past ten years.
The woman said she wanted to acknowledge the tremendous support of the gardaí and family. She thanked each of the investigating gardaí for their kindness, support and dedication.
She said her greatest fear was the escalation in Cullen's behaviour and she genuinely believed the next escalation was physical harm to both herself and her daughter. Mr Eoin McGovern BL handed in a number of reports to Judge Alymer, including a psychiatrist report. Cullen then read out a prepared letter of apology.
He said he was deeply apologetic and deeply sorry for the actions and upset he caused which had significant impact on the family. He said he takes full responsibility and never intended to cause them harm and upset. He said it was motivated by his alcohol addiction and he should have taken advice sooner to sort that.
He said he was mortified for the disgrace and shame he brought his family and was deeply ashamed and embarrassed. He said he is attending counselling and psychological therapy. He said it would never happen again and he acknowledged the great deal of upset adding that he was truly sorry. Mr McGovern said Cullen was engaging with a consultant psychiatrist who discovered he had what was known as 'erotomania'. He was undergoing addiction counselling.
Cullen's wife, Mary told the court she knew her husband for thirty years and they were married 26 years and they had three children.
She told Judge Alymer that his alcohol addiction had been going on for many years and had never been addressed and she believed this was the main factor. She described him as hardworking, a good provider for the family and came from a respectable family and was very involved in their children's lives.
She said she had no idea how they would cope if he was absent from their lives. She said he was committed to dealing with his issues and if sent to prison the progress could be lost. Mr McGovern said it was utterly inexcusable what his client had done. He entered early pleas and made full admissions.
Judge Alymer said that Cullen came before the court having pleaded guilty to harassment. He said the aggravating factor was the harassment was very sexual in nature. The woman was extremely intimidated by the frightening nature of his behaviour which was persistent since 2015.
It had a very severe impact on the woman and her family and also their safety and security. He said the headline sentence on each count was seven years and the second offence happened when he was on bail and he had to impose a consecutive sentence because of that.
He said Cullen had no previous convictions and was a hardworking man and had not come to attention since January 20 2024.
He said he heard his letter of apology and he seemed remorseful. He said the psychologist's report appears to show poor mental health. He said erotomania seemed to be a mental illness with delusion obsession and it appeared the condition had a psychotic nature but that was not in the report.
Judge Alymer said that unfortunately in the report, it suggested Cullen displayed little insight into the affect on his victim and little victim empathy. The report said he was lacking understanding as to why it was being persued through the courts.
He said he seemed to be engaging in his rehabilitation and was not drinking. He said he accepted how difficult a prison sentence will be on his family. He said that on the first count, he was imposing a sentence of six years in prison which he reduced to four years taking into account mitigating factors of full admission, co-operation and an early plea of guilty.
On the second count, which he said was also at the upper end, he said he was taking into account he was on bail which was aggravating. He sentenced him to two and a half years consecutive, suspended for a period of two and a half years on condition he enter a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two and a half years after his release.
Further conditions the judge applied were that Cullen abstain completely from alcohol and be under the supervision of the Probation Service for two years and comply with all of their directions.
He must also attend AA and counselling for erotomania and attend mental health services. He must inform the Probation Service of any change of address.
Cullen must also have no contact with the victim, her partner or their daughter and not to come within one kilometre of their residence, place of work of education. He warned Cullen that any breach would see the matter being re-entered and he would serve the extra two and a half years.
He ordered no contact with the victim , her partner or her daughter and to not come within one kilometre subsequently on his release from prison indefinitely. He said a breach of the order was a criminal offence.