RTÉ's crime correspondent Paul Reynolds was seriously defamed in an article in the Garda Review magazine, a judge found yesterday.
Awarding Mr Reynolds €60,000 damages against the magazine and PJ Stone, general secretary of the Garda Representative Association, Mr Justice Matthew Deery said the crime reporter's work required that he be trusted and respected by gardaí.
Judge Deery said the article, which described a news item by Mr Reynolds as extremely irresponsible journalism, was of a particularly injurious nature to Mr Reynolds.
Mr Reynolds claimed he had been defamed in the magazine six years ago after having exclusively broken a story about the arrest and questioning by Spanish police of a garda in relation to an alleged assault and rape of a woman on the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife.
The report said a 26-year-old garda attached to a north Co Dublin station but originally from a border county, had been detained in Tenerife after an Irish woman on holiday there had complained she had been raped.
Mr Reynolds's broadcast had reported it was understood the garda had a lot to drink and had been twice put out of a pub in the Las Americas area of the island.
Judge Deery said the Garda Review editorial written by Mr Stone had carried little factual detail of the news report by Mr Reynolds and its defence essentially was one of fair comment.
While the defence of fair comment had to refer to fact correctly stated, it had been contended by Hugh Mohan, SC, counsel for the defendants, that the factual matters were discernible and had not needed to be set out in the editorial complained of.
The defendants had further contended that an editorial was an opinion piece and permitted considerable freedom to express views that many might otherwise consider harsh or indeed extreme.
Judge Deery said the article had asked the rhetorical question: "Is it intended to portray members of the Garda in a particularly unfavourable light?"
The overall content and context of the article invited the reader to adopt the view that it was so intended and in this way bias by Mr Reynolds was the clear inference to be drawn.
He said that because of a 16-day delay between Mr Reynolds's report and publication of the article basic facts ought to have been brought to the readers' attention so as to show and provide the basis for comment in what had been held out to be a genuine opinion piece.
The article had stated: "There is a vast difference between due process and this fait accompli delivered to the nation - a complaint has been made against a member of the gardaí, therefore the garda must be guilty."
Judge Deery said anyone reading this paragraph would come to the view that the news report conveyed to the public the message that the garda was guilty and furthermore that Mr Reynolds had no understanding of the requirements of due process.
Referring to Mr Reynolds, Judge Deery said: "I have no doubt that he is a journalist of the highest standing and furthermore it is of particular importance that he be seen to be impartial as RTÉ is required by statute to maintain an impartial stance."