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Sentence of child abuser caught with paedophile 'manual' unduly lenient, appeal hears
Summary
In 2020 the Court of Appeal heard an appeal against a five‑year sentence imposed on a 43‑year‑old man who sexually abused a boy and possessed vast amounts of child pornography. The man had been convicted in 2011‑2013 of two counts of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and production of child pornography, and had pleaded guilty to possession for distribution in 2006 and possession of child pornographic material in 2013. Gardaí seized over 55,000 images, 6,000 videos and 4,500 text files, including a 127‑page manual on how to exploit children. The appeal argued the sentence was unduly lenient, citing the maximum 14‑year term for the offences, the presence of 19,000 Category 1 images, and the fact that the defendant had spent three years in a Philippine jail after his passport was revoked.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Sentence of child abuser caught with paedophile 'manual' unduly lenient, appeal hears. Charges or matters: possessing child pornography for distribution within in the State on July 11, 2006 and to possessing child porn images, videos, texts and documents on computer media on December 9, 2013. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- July 11, 2006 Incident
- December 9, 2013 Incident
- December 2013 Other
- 2011 and 2013 Incident
- 2020-10-08 Publication
Why: At his sentencing, Judge Melanie Greally said that 19 videos showed "child abuse at its most extreme," because of the "unimaginable depravity" of the sexual acts being perpetrated on the children and the extremely young age of some of the victims. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: possessing child pornography for distribution within in the State on July 11, 2006 and to possessing child porn images, videos, texts and documents on computer media on December 9, 2013 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: A five-year sentence imposed on a man who sexually abused a boy after "ingratiating himself" into the victim's family and who was found in possession of tens of thousands of child abuse images and a 127-page paedophile "manual" was too lenient, the State has said. In April of last year, the male was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for two counts of sexually assaulting a boy, sexual exploitation of a boy and producing child pornography between 2011 and 2013.
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