Richard Hayes gets suspended sentence for child abuse material

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

Richard Hayes received a fully suspended two-year sentence for possessing child sexual abuse material at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 19 February 2025.

According to the Irish Independent, Hayes pleaded guilty to possessing the material at an address in Kingswood, Dublin, on 16 November 2019.

The court was informed that Hayes had 33 videos and 84 images on two phones; 26 videos and 57 images were classified in category one, the most severe category described in the report.

Hayes had no prior criminal convictions. Judge Martin Nolan said the material was serious, ruled that Hayes would be placed on the sex offenders’ register and concluded he was unlikely to reoffend. The judge suspended the full sentence and said probation supervision was unnecessary.