2025-11-14 · Dublin
School teacher caught in child grooming sting gets 2.5 years
Niall Ganley, a 33‑year‑old Dublin school teacher, was sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment after a UK‑based vigilante group exposed his online grooming of children. In July 2023, the group reported that Ganley had initiated contact with a fake profile posing as a nine‑year‑old girl on Chat Avenue, sending sexualised messages, nude photos, and instructions for sexual acts. He also sent pornographic videos and a video of himself masturbating. Garda Lisa Finn presented evidence that Ganley had engaged in similar conduct with minors in 2016, including a 16‑year‑old and a 13‑year‑old, and had produced and possessed child sexual abuse material. Ganley pleaded guilty to inducing a child to participate in sexual activity, producing and possessing child sexual abuse material, and communicating with a child for sexual exploitation.