Judge asked not to jail man who groomed teenage girl online

A judge has been asked not to jail a man who had sex with a teenage girl after grooming her through a fake social media account.

Conor O’Keefe of Oakdale Close, Ballycullen in Dublin struck up a friendship with her by pretending to be a 13-year-old girl called ‘Julie’.

Tagged.com describes itself as “the social network for meeting new people”.

Conor O’Keefe’s victim was just 15 when she joined the site during the summer of 2011.

She added 'Julie' as a friend and agreed to speak to her 22-year-old brother 'Adam', who convinced her to get a taxi to his home, where they had sex in the early hours of July 30, 2011.

Gardaí became involved when the girl’s mother found out what happened and Mr O’Keefe admitted setting up the fake account and having sex with the girl, but denied grooming her online - a charge he was convicted of last month.

Today, his defence barrister pleaded with Judge Sarah Berkeley not to jail the now 26-year-old.

The court heard he is now the father of a baby boy, who was only born yesterday - a development which complicates matters, according to Judge Berkeley.

O’Keefe was remanded on continuing bail today and is due to be sentenced on January 12.