Survivor slams supporters

THE survivor of a campaign of coercive control by ex-garda Paul Moody yesterday slammed those who stood by him even after they knew what he’d done.

Known only as “Nicola” the brave woman told RTE News she couldn’t understand how some people continued to support him.

And she said these people know who they are and she would like them to reflect on their actions.

Moody, 42 – jailed for three years and three months this week – was caught after he made a complaint to gardai about one of Nicola’s family members.

He’d handed in his phone as part of the probe and detectives from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation realised what he was doing.

Nicola, who is battling cancer, said: “While trying to destroy my life, he actually destroyed his own. He tried to lie and come after a member of my family with false evidence.” She said the officers who investigated Moody were “amazing”, adding: “If I could pick such a team, that’s who I would have picked. They gave me back my faith in An Garda Siochana.

“No one deserves to get away with treating anyone like this. No other human being should treat another human being this way. It’s cruel and beyond evil.” Nicola said she previously tried to report

Moody to a senior officer in Irishtown Garda Station where he worked. But the bully got a colleague to divert her call to him.

She said she does not know why Moody was allowed to plead guilty to only one of the 20 charges, that of coercive control and still fears he won’t go to jail “because he’s a guard”.

Nicola also called for privacy, as as she faces further cancer treatment. She added: “I need time to concentrate on my health and my recovery.”