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Man had thousands of child abuse images
Summary
Marcin Wojciechowicz, 34, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of child pornography on a mobile phone on June 2, 2015. The court heard that gardaí discovered over 16,000 images and 300 videos classified as child pornography on his USB stick, mobile phone, and laptop after he left a USB key in a co-worker's van. Among the material were 700 images at the highest level depicting sadism and cruelty to young children, including toddlers and infants. Wojciechowicz, who has been in custody since his arrest, told gardaí he was trying to catch paedophiles and downloaded the images by accident. Defence counsel Padraig Dwyer SC stated that Wojciechowicz accepted responsibility but maintained a long-term plan to hand the material to authorities. Dwyer noted that Wojciechowicz had a past diagnosis of schizophrenia, no previous convictions, and no evidence of commercial or distribution purposes. He added that the defendant was prepared to leave the country as part of any suspended sentence. Judge Melanie Greally adjourned the case to October 5th to allow time for consideration and for gardaí to ascertain the period over which the images were collected.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Man had thousands of child abuse images. Charges or matters: possession of child pornography on a mobile phone on June 2, 2015. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- June 2, 2015 Adjournment
- October 5th Adjournment
- 2016-07-15 Publication
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: possession of child pornography on a mobile phone on June 2, 2015 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: A man who had thousands of images and videos of child abuse, some of which showed children being tortured, will be sentenced in October. He was prepared to leave the country as part of any period of suspended sentence.; Judge Melanie Greally adjourned the case to October 5th next to allow her consider the case and give gardaí time to ascertain over what time period the images had been collected.
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