Carl Byrne and Aidan Lawlor get suspended sentences for child pornography

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

Carl Byrne and Aidan Lawlor received one-year suspended sentences for producing child pornography at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 31 May 2018.

Both men pleaded guilty to possession, production and distribution of child pornography.

Judge Martin Nolan heard evidence on 30 May and adjourned sentencing overnight. He ordered both men to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for one year.

The court heard that Lawlor created a profile posing as a 16-year-old girl, while Byrne exchanged sexually explicit messages with him. Lawlor’s counsel, Edmund Sweetman, said his client had set up the profile because he was depressed and lonely, not to seek sexual gratification.

The report said there was no actual victim involved. Judge Nolan described the case as very unusual and said the child pornography produced was of the lowest type. The proceedings were reported on 31 May 2018.