Man shared video of little girl being 'violently raped' while holding teddy bear, Limerick court told

Judge Colin Daly said sentencing will take place on July 30. File picture: Dan Linehan

WARNING: Readers may find the following report upsetting

A man will be sentenced later this month after a Limerick court heard of how he talked about torturing, raping and killing children, and shared videos of a little girl being “violently raped” while holding a teddy bear.

The man aged in his 40s with an address in Limerick City cannot be named due to reporting restrictions to ensure the identity of “innocent” people are not revealed.

He appeared before Limerick Circuit Court via video link from prison.

He is charged with 14 offences in relation to possession, production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, contrary to the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998.

The accused previously pleaded guilty to the offences. He was arrested and first charged in October 2025.

Prosecution barrister John O’Sullivan told the court the material found on the accused’s devices is of the “grossest nature”.

Detective Garda James Muldowney, of the Divisional Protective Services Unit (DPSU), told the court the material contained on the devices was “some of the most extreme" child sexual abuse material he has seen “after 10 years” working there.

In a summary of the man’s offending, the court heard how he downloaded dozens of videos of a graphic nature, which were distributed to unnamed individuals on several apps, such as Snapchat, Sessions and TeleGuard.

The court heard how the videos included one of a six-month-old baby being anally raped, and of a six-year-old girl being violently raped while holding a teddy bear.

The court heard investigating gardaí were told by the accused to “come back in another year, and there’ll be another phone” containing graphic images of children. It heard the accused sent messages describing how he would “find a little girl for you to rape”.

The accused also told other users online he can “f*** any kid I can get alone”, and that “most kids I see I want to rape”. He also said there is “nothing as good as a bleeding child” and that he would “love to torture a child”.

The court also heard how the accused is HIV positive and told gardaí during interviews that he is not taking prescribed medication to stop the spread of the virus to others. The accused also told another online user: “You can help me find lads to infect today”.

The man also shared family photographs of young relatives, which were shared via online applications.

A victim impact statement written by their mother was read in court. She said she was “shocked and horrified” when she received a call from the garda and that she “felt sick” upon hearing the images were shared with “paedophiles” on the “dark web”.

The accused’s barrister, Liam Carroll BL, said in mitigation that “obviously the offences are serious” but that these “type of offences could only happen in the context of someone having completely lost themselves”.

Mr Carroll said there was “no evidence of any hands-on” offences, and that his client engaged in downloading and distributing the material. He also said there was no evidence his client “acted out any of the violent fantasies” he talked about.

He added his client is a “self-confessed sex addict” and “somebody who is damaged to some degree” after having been sexually abused when he was a child.

The court heard how the accused contracted HIV after becoming a sex worker in the UK, and having had relations with “in excess of 2,500 men”.

Mr Carroll asked the judge for “whatever leniency you have”. Judge Colin Daly said sentencing will take place on July 30.

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