Brian Manning sentenced for child pornography possession

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Brian Manning received an 18-month prison sentence, fully suspended, at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 24 May 2018. The suspension was conditional on Probation Service supervision for that period. Judge Cormac Quinn also ordered him to apply for assessment for treatment on a sex offenders’ programme.

Manning pleaded guilty to a single count of possessing 37 images and one video classified as child pornography. The count related to 15 March 2017. The proceedings were reported on 28 May 2018.

The report said Manning had accessed the material through Kik Messenger. The court heard that Virgin Media confirmed two images had been sent from an IP address registered to him. A forensic examination of his seized phone revealed 37 photos and one video. Manning voluntarily attended a garda station and made admissions.

Manning told gardaí he did not remember sending images, had not intentionally downloaded or knowingly stored them, and that their storage on his phone was accidental. He accepted he had made lewd comments about pictures. His defence counsel, Paul Carroll SC, said images had been sent by others and Manning had accessed them.

Judge Quinn said he took account of Manning’s early guilty plea and remorse, and noted that media coverage had affected his personal life and his marriage had ended. A probation report assessed him as at low risk of reoffending.