Rihanna’s ex-head of security spared jail for harassing garda
A former head of security for pop star Rihanna has been spared jail for harassing a garda sergeant with abusive text messages in which he threatened “to put a stop to the lot of you one by one”.
Geoffrey Keating, aged 40, of Woodbank Drive, Finglas, Dublin, denied harassing Garda Sergeant Brendan Carey over the period of an hour and a half on the afternoon of August 21, 2016.
He was found guilty following his trial before Judge Ann Ryan at Dublin District Court yesterday.
He was given a six-month sentence suspended on condition he does not re-offend in the next 12 months and he gave an undertaking not to contact or approach the sergeant again.
The harassment consisted of nine messages from Keating who claimed he had contacted the sergeant initially to make a complaint about the conduct of other gardaí.
Sgt Carey had been based in Finglas previously but had been promoted and transferred to another station when Keating contacted him.
Keating claimed juveniles had been forced by gardaí to strip to their boxer shorts and he contacted the sergeant so his complaint would be passed up the chain.
He had been on medication at the time, the court heard.
The sergeant had given him his personal number a couple of years previously when Keating had helped gardaí change a tyre.
Keating had mentioned antisocial behaviour and crime problems in his area and the sergeant gave his number in case he needed to contact gardaí.
Keating worked for Rihanna in 2012 and 2013.
Sgt Carey had been transferred to a different station by the time he received the text messages on the Viber messaging app from Keating who admitted that he sent them.
Sgt Carey told the court he felt the threats were directed at him. He had not known who the sender was initially and he was concerned for himself and for his colleagues.
