Gerard O'Neill placed on probation for child pornography offences

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

Gerard O'Neill pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing and distributing child pornography videos at his home on dates between 15 April and 13 May 2015. The proceedings were reported on 1 May 2019.

Judge Melanie Greally placed O'Neill on a two-year probation bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. She ordered him to attend a sex offender treatment programme and follow all directions of his probation officer.

The judge also ordered him not to contact any child under 18, directly or indirectly, except in the presence of the child's parent or guardian. He was to live at an address agreed with his probation officer.

Gardaí searched O'Neill's Tallaght home in May 2015. Garda Michelle McGuinness said a laptop, hard drive and two CDs were taken for analysis. O'Neill was arrested in March 2018 after 225 child pornography videos were found on the seized items. A chat conversation in which one video was shared was also retrieved.

Garda McGuinness agreed with defence counsel that the distribution offence was at the lowest end of the scale and that O'Neill had been watching adult pornography when someone sent him a link to child pornography. His counsel, Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, said O'Neill was shocked when he first viewed the link but, while under the influence of alcohol, viewed and downloaded the files. Counsel said it did not appear that O'Neill had initially gone looking for it.

Mr Ó Lideadha said a report before the court outlined that O'Neill expressed regret and understood that children were being abused in the videos. Judge Greally listed the matter for 12 May 2021 to assess his progress on probation and finalise the matter.