Man possessing child sexual abuse material flagged for inappropriate sexual behaviour as a youth

A man who admitted possessing and distributing depraved videos and images of children being raped by adult men, as well as young children engaging in sex acts with one another, has been remanded on bail for sentencing.

The man, who was nine days short of his 18th birthday when the explicit child sexual abuse material was seized by gardaí, cannot presently be named due to reporting restrictions.

Prosecuting barrister, John O’Sullivan flagged with the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions could see “no basis” as to why the man should not be identified, but he said the question of the man’s anonymity would be decided at his sentencing hearing, which was scheduled for November 7th.

The 22-year old man appeared before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday evening, which heard harrowing evidence of the offences he had pleaded guilty to.

The court heard the man had previously admitted three offences under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, including that, he did “knowingly produce child pornography”, on March 28, 2020; that he did “distribute child pornography” on the same date, and that he was in “possession of child pornography” on June 4th, 2020.

Specially trained forensic gardaí discovered the extremely explicit illegal material on a mobile phone and two laptops owned by the defendant.

The devices were seized during a search of a house run by Tusla, the Child and Family agency, in which the defendant was residing, on June 4th, 2020.

The court heard that, in 2018, the defendant, then aged 16, had been placed in Tulsa accommodation with other young adults after his mother had expressed concerns about her son in respect of alleged inappropriate sexual behaviour.

The defendant later disclosed to a school guidance councillor that he was “sexually aroused” by young boys, said Mr O’Sullivan.

Tusla were alerted, and in turn, the agency alerted gardaí who obtained a search warrant and conducted a search of the property where the defendant was staying.

Mobile phone

The court heard that gardaí discovered 186 videos and 226 images of the most graphic and explicit child rape and sexual abuse on the defendant’s mobile phone.

Gardaí classified all 186 videos as “Category One” material, meaning the videos were of the upmost gravity.

Some of the material showed adult men raping boys aged as young as five years, as well as children engaging in sex acts with one another, it was heard.

Gardaí classified 141 of the 226 images as Catgeory One, and the remaining 85 images “Category Two”, meaning the images involved children’s exposed genitals and anal area.

They discovered another 11 Category One videos as well as 32 explicit images containing (24 Category One photographs) and (eight Category Two photos) on the defendant’s two laptops.

A Garda forensic examination of the devices unearthed evidence the defendant had tried to delete the explicit material as well as his internet browsing history.

Gardaí discovered that the defendant used the web browser “TOR” to search the “Dark Web” for child abuse material. He also used an online chat application platform “KIK” to distribute two explicit videos to an unknown user.

The defendant shared these videos with this user after the pair engaged in a private chat in March 2020 about their shared sexual interest in children.

The defendant was arrested by gardaí when he went to a Garda station by appointment on February 22nd 2021.

He initially denied distributing the material and said he had only shared videos of himself, but he eventually entered guilty pleas at the outset of the prosecution’s case against him.

Mr O’Sullivan said the defendant told gardaí he had viewed the explicit material out of a “morbid curiosity” but, later, “he admitted to being sexually aroused while viewing child pornography of this nature”.

Gardaí agreed with Mr O’Sullivan that the defendant’s “interaction with graphic child pornography and his openness surrounding his sexual preference for this type of material is a worrying aspect of this case”.

A probation report completed last July flagged the defendant as being at risk of re-offending.

Inappropriate behaviour

Barrister Antoinette Simon, defending, argued that while Tusla alerted gardaí in 2020, it appeared the agency was not in contact with Gardaí about the defendant despite Tusla being aware he had been flagged with the agency for alleged inappropriate behaviour with minors as far back as 2013, 2015 and 2019.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Ms Simon asked a garda detective familiar with the case against her client, if Tusla contacted Gardai prior to the garda search in 2020.

“I’m not aware of any previous contact in relation to (the defendant)...it is my understanding that they (Tusla) refer if they believe a crime may have occurred,” the Garda added.

Ms Simon said she was “not here to lay blame with anyone”, and, she said she was “not trying to soften” the culpability of the defendant, nor claim “my client being a victim in this, certainly not”.

“But, certain interventions could have been there for my client back in 2013, when he was 11; in 2015 he was 13; and certainly in 2019 again when he opens up to his guidance councillor, and referrals were made by a social worker,” Ms Simon said.

The defence barrister submitted that whatever sentence is imposed, she believed the defendant would require “long-term consistent therapeutic interventions” to try to “reduce the risk” of him re-offending.

She said the man had “used cannabis from a very young age” and he is currently employed and living in the mid-west region.

The maximum sentences open to the court is one of 14 years on the distribution offence and five years on the possession offence.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.