Sergio Arriaga jailed for possession of child abuse material

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

Sergio Arriaga was sentenced to 20 months in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 22 November 2022, with the final eight months suspended on strict conditions. He must also place himself under Probation Services supervision for eight months and would be placed on the sex offenders’ register.

Arriaga pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography at his Lucan address on 29 April 2013. The proceedings were reported on 22 November 2022.

The report said Arriaga downloaded and stored more than 2,700 images and 234 videos across hard drives, some depicting children as young as two. There was no evidence that he produced any illegal files or knowingly distributed them.

Defence counsel Brian Gageby said Arriaga first encountered the material in a block download and became interested in images of adolescent girls. He said Arriaga denied a particular interest in young girls and a sexual interest in actual teenage girls, and viewed the material as a fantasy in which he saw himself as an adolescent boy. Counsel said Arriaga had sought out the material as a coping mechanism while lonely, isolated and depressed.

Judge Elma Sheahan identified the early guilty plea, remorse and placement on the register as mitigating factors. She noted that Arriaga had no previous convictions. She reduced a three-year headline sentence to two years and two months for mitigation, then to 20 months with the final eight suspended because of the delay in the case.