By Ronan Judge

A Galway woman who was in the “depths of addiction” when she falsely claimed she had been raped and beaten up by her husband and brother-in-law has received an 18-month suspended prison sentence.

Valerie McDonagh (40), with an address at Walter Macken Place, Mervue, pleaded guilty that on February 15, 2022, and February 23, 2022, she made false statements tending to show offences had been committed.

Detective Garda Greg Gander told Galway Circuit Court that in February 2022, the accused reported to Gardaí she had been thrown into the back of a car in Knocknacarra Retail Park by her husband and brother-in-law. The court heard Valerie McDonagh alleged that while in the vehicle she was raped and beaten up before being thrown out.

Det Gander said the priorities after the complaint was made were the welfare of the complainant and the harnessing of forensic evidence.

He agreed with prosecuting counsel, Brendan McDonagh BL, that Gardaí had no reason not to believe Ms McDonagh.

The court heard her marriage was difficult, violent and the couple lived in substandard accommodation where drug use was rampant.

However, the court heard that an examination of the accused at the Mullingar Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) found no obvious signs of trauma and no semen was detected.

Detective Gander told the court that it became “very obvious, very quickly” that the alleged offending vehicle could not be located after a trawl of local CCTV.

Valerie McDonagh’s phone had also been reset to factory settings and Detective Gander agreed with Mr McDonagh that it was “quite easy to punch holes” in the accused’s story.

The court was told “significant Garda resources” had been allocated to the investigation which reached a “critical point” when Inspector Fergus Gaughan travelled to London, where Valerie McDonagh’s husband was living at the time.

The court heard Inspector Gaughan identified the man on CCTV footage from near his accommodation in London, on the day of the alleged rape.

Valerie McDonagh was arrested in June 2023 and even when what Mr McDonagh said was the “abundant weight of material” was put to her, she maintained her version of events.

Detective Gander said at the time Ms McDonagh made the false claims, she was in the “depths of addiction” and was a difficult person to deal with.

However he said the accused today was a “completely different person”, was clean, sober and had completed an 11-month residential programme.

The court heard she had 40 previous convictions, including for theft and assault.

She had not come to the attention of Gardaí since the incident.

Defence barrister Brendan Browne BL said his client wished to apologise to Gardaí and he asked the court to consider Ms McDonagh’s circumstances at the time she made the false statements.

He also asked the court to take into account the litany of challenges his client faced, the level of rehabilitation and positive reports from the Galway Simon Community and a psychologist.

In sentencing, Judge Brian O’Callaghan said Valerie McDonagh made one of the most serious allegations a person can make against someone else, allegations, he said, that were “totally unfounded”.

He said that due to the good work of Gardai, “thankfully”, the allegations did not lead to the preparation of a book of evidence but the investigation still required the use of significant Garda resources.

He said the court also noted the accused’s refusal to resile from her position despite “very clear and blatant evidence the allegations could not be genuine or true”.

The court accepted McDonagh’s apology was genuine and the gravity of offending was in the mid-range.

Judge O’Callaghan said the mitigating factors included McDonagh’s level of rehabilitation, which he described as “nothing short of profound, amazing and brilliant”.

Judge O’Callaghan set a headline sentence of three years and a post-mitigation sentence of 18 months.

He said taking into account all factors including the accused’s age, troubled life and the “hugely impressive rehabilitation”, the court would suspend the term in its entirety, subject to conditions.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.