Man escapes jail over child porn possession

A 26-year-old Dublin man found with hundreds of child porn images on computers at his parents house has escaped jail with a two-and-a-half year suspended sentence.

John McDonnell of Grosvenor Square, Rathmines was caught with 268 images of children, some involving oral and penetrative sex, after Gardaí were alerted by German police that his IP address had been used to access child porn sites in 2007.

Judge Tony Hunt noted that he appeared to have had an addiction, but had since taken positive steps to address his rehabilitation.