Paul Lynch jailed for attempted child sexual exploitation

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

Paul Lynch was jailed for attempted meeting of a child for sexual exploitation at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court; the report says Judge Orla Crowe imposed two years and three months, backdated to when he entered custody in February.

The report, published on 15 May 2024, said Lynch believed he was meeting an 11-year-old girl after an adult decoy posed as a child online. The court heard he sent the decoy a picture of his genitals and arranged to meet her at a shopping centre to give her a phone.

Judge Crowe said the case warranted a three-year headline sentence, then imposed the reduced term after considering mitigation. She acknowledged Lynch’s co-operation and accepted that he had shown genuine remorse.