Former garda Shane Flanagan pleads guilty to inciting men to rape female colleague after impersonating her online
Shane Flanagan, a 39-year-old former garda, impersonated a female colleague on the fetish website FetLife.com and on Facebook between 2018 and 2020, using her personal information and photographs to arrange for men to come to her home in Dublin and rape her. The woman became aware of the impersonation in 2020 when a FetLife user contacted her on her genuine Facebook page. Flanagan's home in Co Clare was searched in January 2021, and devices seized revealed thousands of screenshots, doctored images, and records linking him to the accounts. On 30 June 2025, Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman, six counts of endangerment, and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material, and was remanded in custody by Ms Justice Eileen Creedon awaiting sentencing the following month.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Convicted30 Jun
- Sentenced
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Flanagan impersonated the woman on FetLife.com and Facebook using her personal information and photographs to arrange for men to come to her home and rape her.
- When
- The inciting to rape took place between November and December 2020, and the impersonation on Facebook and FetLife.com spanned 2018 to 2020.
- Where
- The woman's home is in Dublin; Flanagan had an address in Co Clare.
- Investigation
- Flanagan's home was searched on 17 January 2021 and a phone and laptop were seized, revealing over 2,000 screenshots from Pulse, 32 missing persons records, 18 Garda age-identification documents, and hundreds of images of the woman including 219 doctored ones.
- The FetLife.com account was accessed 4,089 times between October 2020 and mid-January 2021.
- Charges
- Flanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman between November and December 2020.
- He pleaded guilty to six counts of endangerment for impersonating the woman in Facebook and FetLife.com communications between 2018 and 2020.
- He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material on 7 January 2021.
- In court
- On 30 June 2025, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon remanded Flanagan in custody for finalisation of sentence the following month.
- Other details
- Flanagan is a former garda with no previous convictions, and the woman and he were friends with no romantic or sexual history.
13 statements extracted from the articles
- whatFlanagan impersonated the woman on FetLife.com and Facebook to arrange for men to come to her home and rape her. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe woman became aware of the impersonation in 2020 when a FetLife user contacted her on her genuine Facebook page. (irishtimes.com)
- whatIn December 2020, the woman created a FetLife account pretending to be male and interacted with the user pretending to be her. (irishtimes.com)
- whatFlanagan told the users the woman was a single parent with two teenage daughters. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationFlanagan's home was searched on 17 January 2021 and a phone and laptop were seized. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationAnalysis of the devices identified more than 2,000 screenshots from Pulse, 32 records of missing persons, and 18 images of Garda age-identification documents. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe FetLife.com account was accessed 4,089 times between October 2020 and mid-January 2021. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationHundreds of images of the woman, including 219 doctored ones, were found during the search. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeFlanagan pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting two men to rape the woman between November and December 2020. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe pleaded guilty to six counts of endangerment for impersonating the woman in Facebook and FetLife.com communications between 2018 and 2020. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe pleaded guilty to one count of possession of four images of child sexual abuse material on 7 January 2021. (irishtimes.com)
- courtMs Justice Eileen Creedon remanded Flanagan in custody for finalisation of sentence next month. (irishtimes.com)
- otherFlanagan has no previous convictions. (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 30 Jun2025Former garda impersonated female colleague online, inciting men to come to her home and rape her
Plea hearing and sentencing adjourned; victim impact statement read; details of online impersonation and investigation evidence presented.
accused, Shane Flanagan, 39, male, named, irish (judged from name)Shane Flanaganvictim, female