Man used Facebook to arrange child sex

A sex offender has been jailed for two years after a court heard he befriended a Cork boy through Facebook and had arranged to travel to Mallow to sexually exploit the child.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Det Garda TJ Molloy said the 33-year-old man was arrested at his home on August 28 last — the day before he was due to travel to meet the boy.

Det Molloy told the court the man admitted to gardaí that he used Facebook to make contact with children.

Det Molloy said the man admitted he was going to Mallow to commit a sex act with the boy and watched child pornographic images for his “own sick pleasure”.

The detective said the authorities have been unable to confirm that the boy — referred to as J — exists as nobody of his name or address could be located by gardaí in the Mallow area.

Judge Carroll Moran said that the man was seeking to make contact with children through Facebook “was an aggravating factor in the case”. He imposed a four-year term, suspending the final two years.

He said the man had begun downloading child pornography less than one month after he was released from prison last summer.

Det Garda Molloy said the man had been sentenced in Dublin to seven years with the final two suspended for the sexual assault of a boy.

He was released in July 2013, and as a result of the new offences, the final two years has been activated. Judge Moran said that the sentence imposed is consecutive to the one currently being served by him.

The man pleaded guilty to having child pornography featuring naked male images on his tablet computer contrary to Section 6(1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998.

He also pleaded guilty to, on dates between August 7 and August 28, 2013, knowingly distributing child pornography for the purpose of publication, sale of share contrary to Section 5(1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1988.

Det Garda Paul Johnston examined the tablet and examined the Facebook chats between him and the child known as J. Det Johnston said the chats “were quite sexualised in nature”.

“In one conversation, J was being asked to perform sexual act with his younger brother, which he indicated he did during the course of the chat and the age of the younger brother was seven.”

Det Johnston said another Facebook chat involving the man with another child D was of a similar nature.

He said J transferred four images to the man, including two child pornographic ones. The man admitted to gardaí that he sent two child pornographic images to a man in Donegal.

Det Molloy said gardaí located 25 images of child porn on his tablet, along with four movie files.

Det Johnston said 19 of the images fell into category one that relates to images of naked young boys, with six in category two that relate to children engaging in sexual activity. He said one of the movies fell into category four, which involves sexual activity between an adult and a male child, with three in category two.

The man’s counsel said his client had made full and frank admissions and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. He said his client accepts he has a problem with child porn, accepts that his behaviour is wrong, and had suffered abuse himself when he was a child.