Latest news with #Flanagan
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Largest Canadian-owned fishing vessel' christened in Iqaluit
It took a dozen swings for Baffin Fisheries chairperson Kelly Kilabuk to break a champagne bottle on the hull of the Inuksuk II. But when the glass shattered, the journey was finally over. The Nunavut-owned fishery company could set sail into its next era. 'I can remember many, many years ago, we said, 'One day we're going to build this vessel, we're going to sail it into Iqaluit and we're going to smash the champagne bottle against the hull,'' CEO Chris Flanagan said in an interview. 'It's going to deliver a lot of returns for many years, so I'm thrilled.' Inuksuk II, Baffin Fisheries' newest vessel, was christened during a ceremony at the Iqaluit deepsea port Tuesday attended by at least 50 employees, board members, government officials and community members. Inuksuk II is the third fishing vessel in the company's fleet. It replaces Inuksuk I, a vessel the company has since sold to a buyer in the Faroe Islands. Getting the ship to port in Iqaluit has taken several years. After announcing the $72.5-million purchase of the vessel in 2021, Baffin Fisheries encountered several delays and challenges. COVID-19 made access to the shipyard in Turkey difficult, and a Russian attack on a Ukrainian metal supplier delayed construction, Flanagan said. Last October, an engine failure stalled the vessel on its maiden voyage, forcing a return to Turkey for repairs. In January, Inuksuk II arrived in Newfoundland and Labrador . The vessel is 79.5 metres long, nine storeys tall from the top deck to the bottom storage area, and carries a crew of 32. 'It's the largest Canadian-owned fishing vessel,' Flanagan said. On board, there is a fish processing plant, which can process 55 tons of turbot and 65 tons of shrimp per day. In total, the ship has the capacity to hold 1,200 tons of turbot and 900 tons of shrimp. In addition to the new range of computers for mapping, the crew's quarters include improved internet service, and amenities such as a gym and sauna. 'Our general trip now is six to seven weeks, so you need good accommodations to keep everybody comfortable and the internet to keep people connected with home as well,' said Shane Noonan, the ship's captain, adding workers used to be able to call home only once a week. Baffin Fisheries is jointly owned by the hunters and trappers associations of Iqaluit, Kimmirut, Clyde River, Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet. Acquiring and operating the Inuksuk II is a 'Canadian success story,' Flanagan said, with hopes the vessel could operate for the next 25 to 30 years. While Flanagan is set to retire as CEO in August, he's excited to see what Inuksuk II brings to its community owners — a sentiment Kilabuk shares. 'It is owned by Inuit here on Inuit land, in Iqaluit, and it's been a lot of work,' she said. 'It's many years of a vision that has become reality.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Sunday World
Former garda who incited men to rape colleague in her home jailed for seven years
'UNSPEAKABLE ACTS' | Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020 Shane Flanagan Shane Flanagan (39), with an address in Co. Clare, impersonated the woman on a fetish website and on Facebook and engaged in graphic online discussions with users of these sites about sexual violence, rape, cannibalism, torture and physical violence. He also shared the woman's personal information including her address, photos of her and her daughters and screenshots from the Strava app, showing her running route. Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He further pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the woman and her daughters between 2018 and 2020, and to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on January 7, 2021. He has no previous convictions. Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court today, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said Flanagan's offending showed a 'breath-taking disregard' for the safety of the injured parties and that he would have been 'more alive to these dangers' due to his background as a garda. She imposed a sentence of eight years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years. Shane Flanagan News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29 The judge said that 'extremely graphic and disturbing' online conversations had been outlined to the court. She said the offending was an 'egregious breach of trust' which betrayed years of friendship and placed the woman and her daughters in physical danger. 'Thankfully no acts of violence took place,' she said. Ms Justice Creedon noted that the offending was 'not a short lapse of judgement', but occurred over a period of several years. She said the offending was 'cold', 'calculated' and 'motivated by satisfying his own sexual interests and gratification'. The judge set a headline sentence of 10 years in relation to the incitement of rape charges, then said the court had considered the mitigation including Flanagan's guilty pleas. She imposed concurrent sentences of six years on the endangerment charges and three years on the charge of possession of child sexual abuse material. Read more Having imposed sentence, Ms Justice Creedon directed Flanagan to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service following his release and she backdated the sentence to June 30 last, when he went into custody. Breffni Gordon BL, defending, told the court that his client has been 'quite distressed' since the last hearing and was recently an inpatient at a psychiatric hospital. He asked the court to recommend his client receive appropriate psychiatric care, particularly during the initial phase of his sentence. Ms Justice Creedon agreed to make this recommendation. The court was previously told that the woman wishes to retain her anonymity, but does not object to Flanagan being identified. Reading her victim impact statement at an earlier sentence hearing, the woman said Flanagan was a fellow garda who was supposed to uphold the same professional values. She said he was someone she had trusted and called a friend. She said he not only betrayed her, but took her career. She said Flanagan 'plotted' to have her and her daughters attacked, and that he 'planned for men to find us and carry out unspeakable acts of violence'. She said this was a 'betrayal beyond words', that she no longer feels safe in her own home and her trust in others has been damaged. She said no sentence could undo the harm caused and told the court this was not just a 'betrayal of friendship' but a 'calculated predatory act of violence that has left lifelong scars' for her and her daughters. Detective Garda Paul English previously told Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, prosecuting, that the woman and Flanagan were friends and there had never been any romantic or sexual history between them. He said the woman was extremely shocked to find out that Flanagan was the one who had been impersonating her online. 'If you gave me a list of 500 names of people that could have done this to me, I would never have guessed it was him,' the woman told the investigation. The court heard that the woman became aware that someone was using her image on a fetish website, after a user of that website contacted her on her genuine Facebook page in 2020. In December 2020, she created an account on Fetlife and, while pretending to be male, interacted with the user pretending to be her who shared her personal information. The woman then made a complaint to gardai. Evidence was heard of an extensive investigation, which connected the Fetlife account impersonating the woman to Flanagan. His home was searched on January 17, 2021, and items included a phone and laptop was seized. Flanagan provided passwords for these devices and for an email address. The investigation found that Flanagan had created a false Facebook account in the name of 'Laura O'Riordan', using the injured party's information. Det Sgt English told the court that hundreds of images of the woman, including 219 doctored ones were found as part of the search. Four images of child sexual abuse material were found on the laptop. Two of the users of who interacted with Flanagan provided statements to gardai. Flanagan incited them to break into the woman's house and rape her. Both genuinely believed they were talking to a woman who had a fetish for 'CNC' or consensual non consent. These situations involve one party, typically female, agreeing for another party to carry out a rape at an agreed location. Ms Lawlor told the court these men believed they were speaking to the woman, who was agreeing to them individually coming to her home to rape her and which she had consented to in advance. Details of these sexually graphic conversations were read to the court. One of these men, who lives in the UK, told gardai that this person must 'really hate' the victim to go to these lengths. In a victim impact statement, the woman's older daughter said Flanagan had been a family friend for a long time and she now looks back on past events wondering if she missed any signs. She said she experienced a loss of trust in others and spoke of the impact of this going on in the background while attending school. She also spoke of experiencing nightmares and noted that her mother had tried to protect them from finding out what had happened for as long as possible. Flanagan was interviewed six times in February 2022. He made some admissions, including to owning the devices. He confirmed knowing the woman and when material was put to him replied 'everything you've shown me there, that was me'. He apologised to the woman and admitted communicating with between 20 and 30 individuals while pretending to be the woman. He described it as 'harmless roleplay'. Det Sgt English agreed with Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, that his client retired from the gardai in March this year and had an 'unblemished' record of service. Testimonials from family members, probation and psychological reports were handed to the court. Mr Dwyer read a letter of apology from his client to the court. Flanagan said he felt 'deep guilt, shame' and understands now that 'I did not just cause fear, I destroyed a sense of fear, dignity and trust' and stole the victims' peace of mind. He said 'this has been a sobering and painful experience for me' and that he is seeking help to address his issues. Defence counsel asked the court to take into account his client's guilty pleas, the contents of the reports and that his time in custody will be more onerous as he was a garda. Flanagan was suspended from the force in 2021, retiring in March this year. Mr Dwyer noted the reports refer to his client suffering with suicidal ideation. His client is assessed at low to medium risk of re-offending. Counsel said a protective factor is 'the absence of hostility to women' and his client's actions appeared 'rooted in imagination or fantasy, not reality', though in this case, the actions 'did translate into more than just a fantasy'. Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He also pleaded guilty to six counts of endangerment, in that he intentionally or recklessly engaged in impersonating the woman in Facebook communications, and on the website and in which communications invited persons unknown to visit violence upon her and two others, thereby creating a substantial risk of death or serious harm on dates between 2018 and 2020. Flanagan also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on January 7, 2021.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Shane Flanagan: Former garda jailed for inciting rape of colleague
A former garda (Irish police officer) who impersonated a female colleague online and encouraged strangers to rape her and her daughters has been jailed for seven Flanagan admitted two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman, who had been a friend, on dates between November and December also admitted six counts of endangering the woman and her teenage daughters through his communications online and also pleaded guilty to possessing images of child sexual abuse sentence at Dublin's Central Criminal Court, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon sentenced Flanagan to eight years in prison and suspended the final year. The court heard that Flanagan and the woman were both serving members of An Garda Síochána (the Irish police service) at the time.39 year old Flanagan, with an address in County Clare, resigned from the force in were friends, but had never entered into a romantic or intimate set up a profile on an online website which allows people to interact with each other about sexual profile used real photos and information relating to his female friend. He also was said to have set up a fake Facebook account for the same judge said the conversations online in relation to the endangerment charges relating to the woman and her two children were extremely graphic and as the woman, Flanagan discussed in graphic detail what could be done to her and to her some cases he sent men Google Street View images of her house and her regular running communications were discovered in December 2020, when one of the men who had been discussing the logistics of going to the woman's house, contacted her real Facebook profile to make sure she was really consenting. 'Calculated, predatory act of violence' The court heard she was in significant shock when the garda investigation revealed Flanagan was the individual police searched Flanagan's home and seized devices they found almost 700 images of the woman, as well as 219 images of her that had been digitally altered to show her gagged, bound and Justice Creedon said Flanagan showed a "breath-taking disregard" for the safety of the woman and her judge said that Flanagan would have been more "alive" to these dangers with him being once a police said that it was not just a betrayal of friendship, it was a "calculated, predatory act of violence", which had left lifelong scars for the victim and her daughters.
The Journal
3 days ago
- The Journal
Ex-garda jailed for seven years for impersonating colleague online and inciting men to rape her
A FORMER GARDA who impersonated a colleague online and incited men to come to her home and rape her has been jailed for seven years. Shane Flanagan (39), with an address in Co Clare, impersonated the woman on a fetish website and on Facebook and engaged in graphic online discussions with users of these sites about sexual violence, rape, cannibalism, torture and physical violence. He also shared the woman's personal information including her address, photos of her and her daughters and screenshots from the Strava app, showing her running route. Advertisement Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He further pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the woman and her daughters between 2018 and 2020, and to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on 7 January, 2021. He has no previous convictions. Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court today, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said Flanagan's offending showed a 'breath-taking disregard' for the safety of the injured parties and that he would have been 'more alive to these dangers' due to his background as a garda. She imposed a sentence of eight years, with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Sunday World
Former garda who incited men to rape woman in her home jailed for seven years
Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020 A former garda who impersonated a colleague online and incited men to come to her home and rape her has been jailed for seven years. Shane Flanagan (39), with an address in Co. Clare, impersonated the woman on a fetish website and on Facebook and engaged in graphic online discussions with users of these sites about sexual violence, rape, cannibalism, torture and physical violence. He also shared the woman's personal information including her address, photos of her and her daughters and screenshots from the Strava app, showing her running route. Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman on dates between November and December 2020. He further pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the woman and her daughters between 2018 and 2020, and to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on January 7, 2021. He has no previous convictions. Imposing sentence at the Central Criminal Court today, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said Flanagan's offending showed a 'breath-taking disregard' for the safety of the injured parties and that he would have been 'more alive to these dangers' due to his background as a garda. She imposed a sentence of eight years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years. More to follow Shane Flanagan News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29
