Darragh Meehan jailed for online grooming and child defilement

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Darragh Meehan was jailed for six-and-a-half years for child defilement and sexual exploitation at the Central Criminal Court. He will also be registered as a sex offender. The proceedings were reported on 7 March 2018.

Meehan pleaded guilty to one charge of defilement of a child and three charges of sexual exploitation. The offences took place between December 2011 and May 2012. The report said he had pleaded guilty the previous month.

The court heard that Meehan, from Dargle Wood, Knocklyon in Dublin, was 19 when he met the 13-year-old girl. They began communicating through Facebook, Skype and text messages. He performed sexual acts during Skype contact and invited her to do the same; he later met her in person and engaged in a sexual act with her. The girl's mother reported disturbing messages found on her computer to gardaí.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said Meehan's repeated conduct was grooming. Although the girl had not physically resisted, she had not given true consent and had been induced to submit because of the grooming. The judge accepted that Meehan was unlikely to reoffend and could be rehabilitated, but said he could not give him full credit for his plea because it came about two weeks before trial.

Defence counsel Sean Gillane said the offences did not involve contrived or sophisticated targeting, that both parties had been upfront about who they were and that Meehan had been relatively young, though an adult. He said Meehan had written the victim a letter of apology.

In her victim impact statement, the girl said Meehan had used her vulnerability to get what he wanted. She later said she felt stronger and hoped her quality of life would improve.