Courts / Dublin / Report
Jail sentence for man who harassed woman and discussed raping her young son
Summary
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court case, 39‑year‑old Mark Mulligan was sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment for harassing a woman and discussing the rape of her young son. Mulligan admitted to harassing the victim between 2008 and 2012 and to possessing child pornography at his home on 7 July 2013. He pleaded not guilty to a third charge of producing child pornography between 1 and 17 March 2013. The judge, Patricia Ryan, found him guilty after a 44‑minute jury deliberation, noting the harassment spanned years and involved late‑night texts and emails. A four‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence was imposed, with the last year suspended. Mulligan was ordered to stay away from the victim and her family for 30 years, to comply with probation services for 18 months after release, and to engage in rehabilitation or treatment as directed. The sentence was back‑dated to 7 July 2013.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Jail sentence for man who harassed woman and discussed raping her young son. Charges or matters: harassment of a named woman in Dublin on dates between 2008 and 2012; a third charge of producing child pornography at his home on dates between March 1 and March 17, 2013; producing child pornography due to a contentious legal issue over whether the online text conversations between two private adults amounted to the production or distribution of child porn. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- July 7, 2013 Incident
- March 1 Incident
- March 17, 2013 Incident
- August 2012 Other
- July 2013 Other
- 2008 and 2012 Other
- 2014-11-20 Publication
Why: Mark Mulligan (39) told gardaí he had developed a fantasy world for himself because he was lonely, and that this led on to online conversations in which he discussed raping and torturing children. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: harassment of a named woman in Dublin on dates between 2008 and 2012; a third charge of producing child pornography at his home on dates between March 1 and March 17, 2013; producing child pornography due to a contentious legal issue over whether the online text conversations between two private adults amounted to the production or distribution of child porn (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: She suspended the last year of a four and a half year prison sentence. Last July, he received a prison sentence of four years with one suspended for harassing and threatening to kill that victim on dates between August 2012 and July 2013.
Places mentioned
Topics
Harassment Stalking Sexual Offences Stage Sentence
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