Judge gives Mayo man eight years for having 135,000 child porn images

A Co Mayo man who had one of the largest collections of child pornography ever found by gardaí has been jailed for eight years.

James Clarke of Devlis Cottage, Ballyhaunis, had more than 135,000 images and videos on his computer including shots of bondage, cruelty and bestiality.

James Clarke has a previous conviction for sex with a minor in 1977 when he was 20.

In this case he not only admitted possessing child pornography, he pleaded guilty to four charges of knowingly distributing the material from an address in Tallaght in August 2010.

Some of the images show infants and children engaging in sexual activity with each other, adults and animals.

He distributed them through legitimate social networking site, gigatribe.

The court heard Clarke also used an email account to speak to a woman about keeping her and her 14-year-old daughter as sex slaves.

Judge Patricia Ryan imposed a 10-year sentence on the 58-year-old but suspended the final two years suspended.