'Abhorrent and distressing': Limerick paedophile jailed for eight years
John Weber: Pleaded guilty to 14 charges. File picture: Collins
A paedophile has been jailed for eight years after a Limerick court heard of how he talked about torturing, raping, and killing children, and shared videos of a girl being “violently raped” while holding a teddy bear.
Judge Colin Daly imposed the sentence on John Weber, aged 48, with an address in Limerick city, who had pleaded guilty to 14 charges in relation to the possession, production, and distribution of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, contrary to the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998.
Due to reporting restrictions, Weber’s address cannot be shared as the court heard it “could have a deleterious effect on innocent parties”.
Weber appeared before Limerick Circuit Court on Thursday, wearing a burgundy sweater and green sneakers, as Judge Daly summarised the evidence, and took into account a letter Weber wrote to the court.
The court heard that two referrals were made to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau after Weber sent an explicit video depicting an eight-year-old boy to his therapist.
He was arrested and charged in October 2025.
Judge Daly said Weber used the username BL25, short for “Boy Lover 25”.
Devices were seized, and while 27 videos were found on an iPhone, a total of 84 videos and images were found on an iPad.
The court heard the accused told the gardaí: “Come back in another year, and there’ll be another phone” containing explicit material.
To determine sentencing, Judge Daly said he took into account the seriousness of the videos shared, as well as the quantity of videos of “extreme acts”. He described the material as "abhorrent and distressing".
Judge Daly referred to comments made by Weber’s barrister, Liam Carroll BL, in mitigation, who said there was “no evidence of any hands-on” offences. The judge said that while Weber did not engage in “depraved” acts, the distribution of the material should be taken seriously.
The court heard how the accused has been accessing child pornography since 1997. Judge Daly said the nature of Weber’s conversations with other paedophiles is of a “deeply disturbing nature”.
Weber distributed the material to unnamed individuals on several apps, including Snapchat.
Judge Daly said the accused also referred to real events in his own life, as he talked of his travels and a child in his locality who has special needs, and shared pictures of young relatives. The judge said the latter caused “psychological distress” to the family.
Judge Daly said “child pornography has been a feature” of Weber's “whole adult life”.
The judge also took into consideration Weber’s remorse, and the fact he is at a “higher risk than average” of reoffending. He said Weber “accepted his wrongdoings at an early stage”.
At a sentencing hearing on July 13, Mr Carroll said 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 accused contracted HIV after becoming a sex worker in the UK, and having had relations with “in excess of 2,500 men”.
Detective Garda James Muldowney, of the Divisional Protective Services Unit, 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.
Jude Daly also referred to a previous sentence of theft, and said Weber "abused the trust" of an organisation he worked for in a senior position.
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