3-year delay to analyse child porn ‘unacceptable’

A judge has said an “unacceptable” three-year delay by the Garda computer crime unit in analysing child porn found on a Co Mayo man’s laptop in 2009 was a mitigating factor in his decision to impose a suspended sentence.

Judge Thomas O’Donnell, at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court, took what he described as “an unacceptable prosecutorial delay” into consideration when passing sentence on Aidan McIntyre, aged 36, from Lismeeganon, Aghamore, Ballyhaunis.

“This [delay] must be considered a substantial mitigatory factor,” the Judge said before imposing an 18-month suspended prison sentence on the accused, who had been in custody since Aug 22 and who had pleaded guilty.

Three hundred images and 27 video files were found by gardaí on McIntyre’s computer during a Europe wide investigation of child abuse websites.

The images and video files were found on the accused’s laptop.

One hundred and sixty-five images were classified as grade two (child exposure), while 135 were category four — children between six and 12 involved in explicit sexual acts.

Also found were 27 movies, ranging in length from 40 seconds to four or five minutes. Eighteen were category two, showing children gradually undressing or just dancing around naked.

Nine were category four, showing clips of young children being subjected to sexual acts.

Det Garda Martin Mitchell told the court yesterday the accused’s computer was seized on Mar 2, 2009, and handed over to the Garda comp-uter investigation unit for forensic analysis.

Det Garda Mitchell explained the file was not received back from the investigation until Apr 24 last, three years after the computer had been seized.

It had taken the unit three years to analyse what was on the computer due to the amount of work and lack of resources, the investigating officer told a previous court hearing.

Yesterday, Judge O’Donnell said the court was of the view that the delay between the seizure of the computer and the trial was “unacceptable”.

Diarmuid Connolly, counsel, said the accused had not applied for bail when arrested and that was “a tangible expression of the guilt and remorse” he felt over the matter.

There was no question of McIntyre trying to sell or share the images, counsel continued.

The judge made an order for the forfeiture to the State of the seized images and directed that McIntyre be placed on a list of registered sex offenders.