A woman who created fake online dating profiles and Instagram accounts in her ex-partner’s name in a campaign of harassment has been jailed for two years and three months.
Over the course of four months, Portuguese dentist Andreia Funicio (46) subjected her ex-partner to a “sustained campaign of terror” designed to destroy her, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.
As a result of the fake profiles, dozens of men completely unknown to the victim contacted her by WhatsApp and came calling to her house at all hours of the day and night in the anticipation of a sexual encounter. The harassment was triggered by the breakup of a relationship.
The victim told the court that she felt she was in the centre of “a fully-fledged narcissistic smear campaign” which left her struggling with suicidal thoughts.
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Funicio, of Costa Caparica, Portugal, pleaded guilty to harassment on dates between December 2nd, 2022, and March 3rd, 2023.
Imposing sentence on Thursday Judge Martin Nolan said the pattern of harassment was thought out, devious and calculated to inflict damage on the injured party.
He said the harassment was “pretty intense” and had a serious traumatic effect on the victim.
He set a headline sentence of 4½ years, which he reduced to two years and three months in light of the “very good mitigation”. This includes the plea of guilty, the lack of any other criminal convictions and Funicio’s role as a carer for her elderly mother.
He said he thought the defendant was unlikely to reoffend. He ordered her to have no further contact with the victim for 20 years. The maximum penalty for the offence is seven years’ imprisonment.
In her victim-impact statement, read by her solicitor Fiona McGowan, the victim said her home became a realm of terror, and her mental health deteriorated. She said Funicio’s actions were designed to damage her reputation and were extremely damaging.
She said at one stage death seemed like the only option available to her to make the harassment stop, and she also thought about selling her Dublin home and changing her name.
The victim said a family holiday to Australia during the harassment campaign became an unforgettable trip for all the wrong reasons. Instead of spending “precious moments” with her niece and nephews, she spent much of the holiday watching her home doorbell camera.
She said the harassment put a massive strain on her entire family, and her parents suffered with their health.
She said that even after the harassment ceased in March 2023, she remains hypervigilant to this day.
The victim said the ordeal has had a devastating impact on her personal relationships, and she struggles to trust others now. She said she rarely ventures far from home, and her career has suffered as a result of the harassment.
She said she found it impossible to ever accept any apology from the victim, and she says her plea of guilty was another “act of manipulation” on her part.
