Courts / Dublin / Report
Judge sends 'message out' and jails man (58) caught with child abuse material
Summary
Michael Kearns, 58, was found guilty of possessing 207 images and 164 videos of child sexual abuse, depicting boys and girls aged five to fifteen, on his home computer. Gardaí searched his residence in April 2019 after an international organisation tipped off the Online Child Exploitation Unit. Kearns pleaded guilty to child pornography offences that occurred between April 2017 and April 2019. Judge Pauline Codd, noting the material's severity and the "significant level of depravity," imposed a six‑month jail term, suspending the final 18 months of a two‑year sentence. She highlighted Kearns' cooperation, guilty plea, and personal trauma, including cancer diagnoses, as mitigating factors. The judge emphasised the need to protect children and stated she had to "send a message out" by sentencing him to custodial time. The case concluded with Kearns expressing remorse and shame for his actions.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Judge sends 'message out' and jails man (58) caught with child abuse material. Charges or matters: possession of the material, known in law as child pornography, at his home address on dates between April 2017 and April 2019. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- April 2019 Incident
- April 2017 Incident
- 2025-07-07 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: possession of the material, known in law as child pornography, at his home address on dates between April 2017 and April 2019 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: The judge said she would set a headline sentence of four years before she took a number of mitigating factors into account, including Kearns' co-operation with gardaí, his guilty plea, and the traumatic events in his life which the court heard led to him downloading the abuse material. Judge Codd said she had to send a message out as she jailed Kearns for six months.
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