Trainee teacher photographed and sexually assaulted girl, 4
The court heard the child was afraid to go back to the specialised playschool and told her mother that the man, aged 32, had taken photos of her “bum” and “pants”.
Gardaí later discovered 46 images of the girl sent from the man’s phone to his email address, including photos of her private parts.
The man, who can not be named to protect the victim’s identity, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexual assault and the production of child pornography on May 8, 2014.
He further pleaded guilty to possessing 688 images of child porn found on hard drives and computers during a raid on his premises, his family home, and the playschool on May 15, 2014. He has no previous convictions.
Detective Garda Donal O’Connell told Anne-Marie Lawlor, prosecuting, that the child’s parents contacted gardaí after the little girl told them about the pictures.
Two days later, a garda search team raided three addresses and found the images, including 586 of children displaying “erotic posing” with no sexual interaction, more than 90 of penetrative and non- penetrative interactions between children and adults, and several showing genital mutilation.
Det Gda O’Connell said his team got another warrant to access the man’s email addresses, where photos of the four-year-old were later found and analysed.
The man later attended a voluntary garda interview and admitted he had taken up to 20 pictures of the girl.
The girl’s parents, in a victim impact statement read out in court, expressed how the man’s “despicable and disgusting behaviour” would impact them as a family for the rest of their lives.
Det Gda O’Connell agreed with Caroline Biggs, defending, that her client’s plea had spared the child having to be cross-examined.
Judge Greally remanded the man in continuing custody pending sentence in March.
