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"Strong public interest" in prosecuting alleged 'largest facilitator of child porn in the world' in Ireland, court hears
Summary
The High Court heard arguments regarding Eric Eoin Marques, a 30-year-old Dublin resident at Mountjoy Square, who is alleged to be the owner of Freedom Hosting and the 'largest facilitator of child porn in the world.' The State seeks to surrender him to US authorities for charges related to distributing and advertising child pornography, while Marques seeks a judicial review of the Director of Public Prosecutions' refusal to prosecute him in Ireland. Counsel for Marques, Micheál P O'Higgins SC, argued there was a strong public interest in a domestic prosecution, noting his client offered to plead guilty to the alleged offences in the District Court. This offer would dispense with a lengthy trial, and O'Higgins stated there would be no difficulty in securing evidence or witnesses for a sentence hearing. Conversely, State counsel Patrick McGrath SC contended that the DPP properly considered forum issues, including Marques' Irish citizenship and the disproportionate sentence he would face in the US. The court heard that the DPP is entitled to weigh these individual circumstances. The matter was adjourned before Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly, with the case continuing on a date yet to be agreed between the parties.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: "Strong public interest" in prosecuting alleged 'largest facilitator of child porn in the world' in Ireland, court hears. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- August 2013 Incident
- 2015-07-02 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Outcome: There would be no difficulty in securing evidence or witnesses for a sentence hearing.
Places mentioned
Topics
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