Ireland! A man found in possession of over 300 images of child sexual abuse material has been jailed for 12 months, A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for having sex with his underage cousin after giving her cocaine 2025.2.10-2.10

A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for having sex with his underage cousin after giving her cocaine.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, infected the then 16-year-old girl with chlamydia as a result.

He pleaded guilty to the defilement on May 9th, 2021 at the flat he shared with his mother. A second count of defilement in July 2021 at the same location was taken into account.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Monday that he was 21 at the time he committed the offences against his second cousin.

The court heard that the injured party was visiting her aunt, who was also a neighbour of the defendant. The man’s mother was not home, and nor was the girl’s aunt, when he arrived at her door in the early hours of the morning with cocaine and a bottle of vodka.

She took some cocaine and said she had a sip of vodka before beginning to feel dizzy. He asked her to his flat to watch a boxing match and she went with him.

He began kissing her and said: “If anything happens, would you not tell any of them?”

They went upstairs to his bedroom and had sexual intercourse, of which she remembered only the start. Her next memory was waking up at 7am in bed beside him; both were naked.

Between that date and the date of the next offence in July of that year, the man and the injured party exchanged intimate photographs at his request. The messages were on Snapchat, and so disappeared.

In July 2021, he asked her to come to his flat to look at a new scooter. She told gardaí that she felt she had to go, in case he would tell anyone what going on between them and that she would get in trouble.

He again brought her up to his bedroom where they had sex. She said that she felt used afterwards, that he had asked her there only for sex.

She confided in her aunt a few weeks later, and her aunt told her mother, who took her to the Rotunda for a checkup. The accused had told the injured party’s brother that he had chlamydia, and the victim was found to have contracted it.

The man presented himself by arrangement to his local Garda station. He has no previous convictions.

The injured party opted to deliver her victim impact statement in person, and was accompanied to court by her father. Her mother has since passed away from cancer.

She said that her whole life had changed for the worse following these offences. She explained that she had suffered such trauma and shame that she dropped out of education. She became tearful when she said that she could not face other people.

She said that she felt unclean after finding out she had chlamydia. However, she said she hoped that her case would encourage other victims of this type of crime to come forward.

The accused man’s barrister noted that she had turned 17 just five months after the first incident, and that his client was four years and nine months older than her.

He pointed out that there was no suggestion of force or coercion. When she first spoke to gardaí, she said the sex was consensual and that she did not want to make a complaint.

Counsel said the accused fully accepts responsibility for his misconduct, in particular the ‘aggravating feature’ that he had given her chlamydia.

“While there was an element of manipulation in turning up to her flat at 4am with vodka and cocaine, the opportunity presented itself unexpectedly,” he said. “It was opportunistic. It wasn’t violent. She was a participant, albeit an underage participant, and unable to give consent. In her mind, it was consensual.”

He said that his client had alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy addictions since the age of 16, but has been receiving addiction support.

He described what he had done as very selfish.

“He abused his position of trust,” he said. “He took advantage of his younger cousin while in the throes of addiction.”

He said that his client had been offered a job as a brand ambassador with a sales and marketing company, selling door-to-door subscriptions for a charity. He was due to start tomorrow.

A probation report placed him at a moderate risk of reoffending.

Judge Martin Nolan described it as aggravating that there was a second incident, and said that the accused deserved to go to prison.

“Obviously I have to take into account that she was close to the age of consent,” he said. “The fact he was 21 is pertinent.”

He sentenced him to 15 months in prison.

A man found in possession of over 300 images of child sexual abuse material has been jailed for 12 months.

Eugene O’Sullivan (62) of Dorset Street Upper, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of possession of child pornography at his home on November 19th, 2018.

Imposing sentence on Monday, Judge Dara Hayes noted the creation of images of this nature involve the sexual abuse of children, which he described as an aggravating factor, along with the impact on these children and the seriousness of the offending.

The judge said a “reasonably significant quantity” of images in O’Sullivan’s possession fell within ‘category one’ – the highest grade in terms of the gravity of such images.

He said the mitigation included O’Sullivan’s guilty plea, that he has not come to recent negative Garda attention and his efforts to rehabilitate.

The judge also noted O’Sullivan’s mental health difficulties, personal circumstances and that he is assessed at low risk of reoffending.

Judge Hayes noted Court of Appeal decisions state that the option of a suspended custodial sentences must be considered in circumstances including where it is an accused person’s first offence, that they have been cooperative, where there is no suggestion of the sharing of images and the offending is at a low level.

The judge said he was of the view that a wholly suspended sentence was not appropriate in this case, as it was not at the lowest level of seriousness. He also noted general deterrence is also required in cases of this nature.

Judge Hayes noted that while other similar cases before the courts could involve thousands of images, “it seems to me that 330 images is a significant quantity”, particularly as a portion of these images fell into ‘category one’.

He imposed an 18-month custodial sentence with the final six months suspended on strict conditions.

At a previous hearing, Detective Garda Sean Harrington told Diana Stuart BL, prosecuting, that the gardaí received confidential information regarding O’Sullivan, and a warrant was issued for his home. During the search of his home, a USB stick and a folder of printed images were recovered.

The court heard that the USB stick contained 160 images of child sexual abuse material, while the folder contained 170 printed images.

All of the images sampled by gardaí from the USB were described as ‘category one’ images, showing sexual activity involving children.

Within the folder of printed images, around 25 images were described as ‘category one’, with the balance categorised as ‘category two’.

He was cooperative towards the gardaí and made some admission at the scene. Gardaí were not in a position to arrest O’Sullivan until 2023. He made a voluntary statement to gardaí and was charged.

Detective Garda Harrington agreed with Fiachra Treacy BL, defending, that 15 devices in total were seized and analysed, but only the USB and a folder contained images of child abuse material. He also agreed that O’Sullivan had not used a VPN to hide his activity.

The garda agreed with counsel that before O’Sullivan knew he was under investigation, he had deleted the images on the USB. Furthermore, the detective agreed that O’Sullivan sought help and showed shame and remorse for his actions.

Detective Garda Harrington said he did not believe that O’Sullivan will come before the courts again.

Judge Hayes asked the detective what ages the children in the images were, to which he replied, “between four to 10 years old”. The judge also asked if sexual activity with adults was involved in the images, to which the detective replied, “Yes”.

Mr Tracey said his client had a difficult childhood and was subjected to emotional and physical abuse. He said his client has suffered from chronic anxiety for the past 14 years.

Counsel said O’Sullivan was very remorseful and reports before the court placed him at a low risk of reoffending.

He said his client has no history of drug or alcohol use.

Mr Tracey said his client “is at a high risk of suicide, and prison would be very difficult for him” and asked the court to be as lenient as possible.

Judge Hayes noted that the probation report expressed concerns that O’Sullivan appears to have a “deviant interest in children”, but other reports do not reach the same conclusion and O’Sullivan has denied this.

The judge said O’Sullivan appears to lead a “reclusive” lifestyle. He noted his long work history, and that the defendant has not worked in recent years, his history of mental health difficulties and his recent engagement with counselling supports.

The judge directed O’Sullivan to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Services for 12 months following his release from custody.