Artist admits to child sex offence

A “vulnerable” artist who sexually exploited a 15-year-old girl he met on a mental health website will be sentenced next month.

The court heard the accused watched a film with her before trying to have sex with her.

The 36-year-old Donegal man, described by the defence as a “vulnerable” person with few social skills, saw the teenager as his girlfriend, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard yesterday.

The man pleaded guilty to one count of sexually exploiting a child in a Dublin apartment between January 3 and 4, 2015. Another count of meeting a child for the purpose of child exploitation was taken into account. This is a child grooming offence, the court heard.

Garda Maria Cox told Eilis Brennan BL, prosecuting, the man was living in Dublin in late 2014 when he got chatting to the girl on Talklife, a messaging app for young people with mental health issues.

They told each other their ages and met a few times, occasionally “kissing and cuddling”, the court heard.

In January 2015, he invited her to his friend’s apartment in Dublin, as his friend was away. They met at 9am on January 3, went to the apartment, and watched a film.

They then went into the bedroom, where they engaged in some sexual acts and he tried to have sex with her but she was “too tense and afraid”, the court heard.

“He told her he didn’t want to cause her pain,” Ms Brennan said.

The next day, her parents picked her up and she told them what had happened. All contact between the pair ceased and the man was later arrested and charged. In a victim impact statement, the girl said she found it hard to cope after the incident.

Defence barrister Tara Burns SC, said the man wished to apologise to the victim, whom he had viewed as his girlfriend. She submitted that he felt it was a “serious relationship”.

She urged Judge Melanie Greally to impose as lenient a sentence as possible.