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Dublin man who watched young boy being sexually abused by convicted sex offender on webcam sentenced to 5.5 years
Summary
Glen McGowan, 38, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for possession, distribution and production of child pornography. He met a convicted Meath paedophile through the peer‑to‑peer file‑sharing programme Gigatribe, where they traded images, videos and texts containing child pornography. McGowan pleaded guilty to two charges of possession, two of distribution and one of production of child pornography for material dated between December 2010 and July 2012. The judge suspended the final two years of the sentence on strict conditions. McGowan's computer was found to hold 56,647 files, including images of boys as young as four, and a file showing a 13‑year‑old boy being abused on webcam. He admitted using Gigatribe daily, providing passwords to other users, and that he was an accessory to the production of child pornography. The court noted his remorse, isolation, heavy drinking and mental health history.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Dublin man who watched young boy being sexually abused by convicted sex offender on webcam sentenced to 5.5 years. Charges or matters: two charges of possession of child pornography, two charges of distribution of child pornography and one charge of production of child pornography on dates between December 2010 and July 2012; "an almost full kaleidoscope of child pornography" which he said was "both unsettling and disturbing". Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- October 2010 Incident
- December 2010 Incident
- July 2012 Incident
- July 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
- July 25, 2011 Incident
- September 2012 Incident
- 2015-03-19 Publication
Why: Det Gda McGrath accepted a suggestion from Mr Naidoo that McGowan was "encouraging the man to produce child porn because he knew the boy was being used as the subject of a pornographic film". CNI source report
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: two charges of possession of child pornography, two charges of distribution of child pornography and one charge of production of child pornography on dates between December 2010 and July 2012; "an almost full kaleidoscope of child pornography" which he said was "both unsettling and disturbing" (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge Nolan suspended the final two years of the sentence on strict conditions.
Places mentioned
Topics
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