Courts / Dublin / Report

Garda on trial accused of possessing child porn

Date
2018-10-31
Stage
Trial
Primary locality
Dublin
County
Dublin

Summary

Joseph O'Connor, 58, from west Dublin, pleaded not guilty to five counts of possession of child pornography at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. In August 2011, Garda Janette Walsh seized a Dell laptop from his home and used specialised software to analyse its hard drive. She found 43 movie files in the recycle bin, 15 of which depicted boys under ten in sexual acts, including three involving anal and oral penetration. Additional files showed boys aged ten to seventeen and a 15‑year‑old boy with an adult male. Walsh also recovered 92 images of child explicit sex and 136 images of child exposure, many duplicates, from the unallocated memory area. She reported over 300,000 adult pornographic images and 8,000 adult porn movies on the laptop, with 225,000 images in an inaccessible area. The trial, presided over by Judge Elma Sheahan, continues before a jury of ten men and two women.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Garda on trial accused of possessing child porn. Charges or matters: five counts of possession of child pornography at his home in west Dublin in 2011. Procedural stage: trial

When:

Why: Gda Walsh explained that when files are deleted they first go into the computer's "recycle bin". CNI source report

Case subjects

Joseph O'Connor

Defendant

Charges: five counts of possession of child pornography at his home in west Dublin in 2011 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Places mentioned

Secondary Mention
Court Venue
  • Dublin
  • Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Topics

Stage Trial

Related court reports

Read the original CNI report

Help us improve this report

Your request is saved for the newsroom's next review. It does not immediately change the published report.

Prefer email? Send a correction request.

Request a review

We will use it only to contact you about this request.