Cork man caught by vigilante paedophile hunters jailed for trying to sexually exploit a child

Tim Bowen was caught by a vigilante paedophile-hunting group when he turned up at a café expecting to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex

Tim Bowen was jailed for 18 months at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Colin Daly imposed a sentence of three-and-a-half years with the last two years suspended. File picture: Cork Courts Limited

Sexual exploitation of a child is one of the most heinous crimes, a judge said as he jailed a man who was caught by a vigilante paedophile-hunting group when he turned up at a café expecting to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex.

Tim Bowen was jailed for 18 months at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Colin Daly imposed a sentence of three-and-a-half years with the last two years suspended.

”He arranged to meet this child for the purpose of meeting her for sex. His culpability is very high indeed. Notwithstanding the fact that there was no child he was caught red-handed.

Judge Daly said:

Children by their nature are vulnerable to exploitation, whatever form that might take—in any regard, but particularly in regard to the sexual exploitation of a child, it is one of the most heinous crimes.

When Tim Bowen attempted to contact a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl for the purpose of sexual exploitation, the vigilante group made recordings of him which they posted online and they alerted gardaí.

Detective Sergeant Gary Duggan arrested Tim Bowen, 46, with an address at Cottage View, Monkstown, Co Cork, and charged him with two counts. The first charge stated that between July 4 and July 26, 2019, he did attempt to communicate with a child by way of communication technology for the purpose of facilitating the sexual exploitation of that child.

The second charge stated that at Costa Coffee in Bishopstown on July 26, 2019, he did attempt to intentionally meet the child for the purpose of doing something that constituted sexual exploitation of the child, namely sexual assault. Bowen later pleaded guilty to both counts.

Arrest

Det Sgt Duggan said he went to the café at 1pm that day. The vigilante group gave the detective a dossier containing photographs and text messages between Bowen and the alleged 14-year-old girl, who was in fact a decoy adult working for the paedophile hunter group in the UK. The group at the café said they had recorded their interactions with Bowen at the café.

The dossier revealed that Bowen had begun communicating with the decoy 14-year-old girl from July 4, 2019, until July 26, 2019, and that over the course of these 22 days he sent her photos of his penis, photos of other adult genitalia and links to pornographic videos.

Text messages from Bowen to the child described how he would have sex with her, detailing his actions and he made great effort to convince this child to travel to Ireland, telling her that they would have sex. From the first message and throughout their interactions, the decoy child told Bowen she was 14 and gave him ample opportunity to stop, Det Sgt Duggan said.

He said that after viewing the dossier, he spoke to Bowen after caution and that Bowen agreed that he had come to the café for the purpose of having sex with the girl and he confirmed that they had exchanged text messages and photos of a sexual nature.

He arrested Bowen and brought him to Togher Garda Station where he made full admissions and confirmed the dossier was correct and identified himself in the photos and had sent the same to the girl and had come to meet her believing her to be a 14-year-old girl for the purpose of sex and had cleaned out the back of his van for the purpose of having sex.

Acceptance

He is originally from Rhondda in South Wales, came to Ireland 10 years ago and was married with a family here but the marriage has ended.

Defence barrister Paula McCarthy said that as soon as gardaí questioned Tim Bowen that day he accepted he had been there in the belief that he was meeting a 14-year-old child for the purpose of sex.

Ms McCarthy said the accused accepted the gravity of the offence. He has attended the Safer Lives Programme and is now in a relationship with a woman who has health difficulties and he provides care for her.