Former Sinn Féin press officer Michael McMonagle jailed for nine months for child sex offences

Former Sinn Fein press officer Michael McMonagle at Derry crown court.

Former Sinn Féin press officer Michael McMonagle has been jailed for nine months after pleading guilty to child sex offences.

McMonagle, 43, from Limewood Street in Derry, was sentenced at Derry Crown Court to nine months in custody followed by nine months under statutory supervision.

He has also been disqualified from working with children and vulnerable adults.

The case plunged Sinn Féin into controversy as it faced questions around safeguarding measures and how two other party press officers provided references for McMonagle for a subsequent job with the British Heart Foundation.

Speaking outside court, Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher said Michael McMonagle is a “predator who was combing the internet for underage victims”.

“Our child internet protection team work in online spaces so that we can catch paedophiles, hopefully before they traumatise and harm children in our communities,” she said.

“It is by no means an easy job but a rewarding one when we are able to bring offenders like McMonagle before the courts as we have done so today.

“McMonagle is a predator who was combing the internet for underage victims.

“Let this serve as a warning, we are everywhere. If you are attempting to communicate with a child online in a sexual way, you will be caught and you will face the full force of the law when you are.”

Derry Crown Court heard on Friday how McMonagle had communicated with a number of online accounts which were run by police officers posing as children.

McMonagle had originally faced 15 charges, including attempting to incite two children to engage in sexual activity.

The offences relate to various dates between May 2020 and August 2021.

He pleaded guilty to 14 of the 15 offences, and another charge was left on the books.

McMonagle worked for a time as a newspaper journalist in Derry before being employed as a Sinn Fein press officer in the north west.

He was also an adviser for the party at Stormont for a number of years.

In a statement after his first court appearance, Sinn Fein said that as soon as it became aware of his arrest, he was “immediately suspended from employment and party membership”.