Two men charged with having child porn

TWO men, one from Dublin and the other from Limerick, appeared in different courts yesterday on charges of possessing child pornography.

A 38-year-old man from Limerick city appeared in the District Court charged with having pornographic pictures of children on his home computer. Peter Ryan, from Thomondgate, was charged under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act of 1998 with having images of child pornography stored on a computer disc at his home on May 28 this year.

He was remanded in custody with consent to bail on his own bond of €1,000, and he had to lodge a cash bond in court of 350. Mr Ryan was also made to surrender his passport and sign on at Henry Street Garda Station three days a week as part of his bail conditions.

Meanwhile, another man, who was questioned at Santry Garda station in Dublin on Thursday, also appeared before the courts yesterday on similar charges. Gardaí said the 47-year-old man appeared before Dublin District Court yesterday where he faced charges of possessing images contrary to the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act of 1998.

The man was remanded on his own bail to appear in court again on January 23, 2003.

Gardaí are expected to bring a large number of people to court in the next few weeks in connection with seizures of child porn which were made during nationwide raids last May.