‘You don’t know the power of the dark side’: Dad accused of breaching safety order with ‘Star Wars’ messages has case struck out

The hearing, in which those involved cannot be named for legal reasons, was heard by Judge Patricia McNamara at Tallaght District Court. It was alleged the man breached a safety order by sending his teenage son messages on his PlayStation, contrary to Section 33 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018.

At the start of the hearing, the man’s solicitor Michael Hennessy told the court he wanted to make an application about whether the evidence could be allowed, but Judge McNamara said the case should proceed and the issues could be dealt with during the hearing.

During evidence, the court was told the father’s alleged messages included “I’m your father, don’t forget” and “You don’t know the power of the dark side” – both references to Star Wars.

He was said to have challenged his son to a game of Battlefront, which is based on the Star Wars films, and also allegedly told him: “You’re nearly 16, you’re nearly a man now.” The court also heard he was alleged to have written “May the Force be with you” and “Come to the dark side”.

The boy’s mother said her son had brought the messages to her attention after finding them on his PlayStation.

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Mr Hennessy told the judge he intended to challenge all of the prosecution’s evidence. He said the safety order being referred to – dated 10 February 2022 – had no judge’s signature and included a handwritten condition with what appeared to be illegible initials.

Without a properly signed order, he said, the case had no legal foundation.

He told the court the central issue would be the validity of the safety order and whether the PlayStation messages could be relied upon as evidence.

During cross-examination, Mr Hennessy put it to the complainant that the messages showed a father trying to stay in touch with his son – asking about his exam results and wishing him a Happy Christmas – rather than trying to intimidate or breach the order.

Under further questioning led by Mr Hennessy, the court heard that gardaí had never examined the PlayStation and had relied on screenshots the complainant had emailed to them.

Mr Hennessy said that meant the messages couldn’t be verified as the console was never checked and there was no way of confirming whether the screenshots were genuine. He said they couldn’t be treated as reliable evidence.

Having heard all the submissions, Judge McNamara said she couldn’t be satisfied that the order was valid or that the messages had been proved. She said there was no case to answer and struck it out.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.