Sentence reactivated after child porn possession

A CLARE man, who was previously jailed for repeatedly raping and sexually abusing a child, has had the suspended portion of that sentence reactivated for possessing and distributing child pornography.

The 33-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, received a sentence of seven years, with two years suspended in 2010, after pleading guilty to three charges of sexual assault on dates between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2003. His victim was under 10-years-old at the time, while the accused was 21 when the abuse first started.

At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday, Judge Mary Ellen Ring granted an application by The Probation Services to reactivate the suspended portion of that sentence. The court heard that the accused has entered a plea of guilty at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court to distribution and possession of child porn and is awaiting sentence. Probation officer, Eoghan Ryan told Pieter LeVert, BL, that he met the offender in prison in July 2012 to discuss plans for his release. The offender signed an agreement, agreeing to co-operate with The Probation service for two years after his release on August 7, 2012. He said that later that month gardaí recovered a number of computers that contained material classified as child pornography and the man was taken into custody.

The court heard that he had allegedly tried to make contact with youths through social networking sites and had invited a fellow inmate to meet these children At the 2010 sentencing, Judge Katherine Delahunt said that a victim impact report submitted to the court made for sorrowful reading.

The court heard then the accused would touch the boy, make him touch him, perform oral sex on the boy and anally rape him. She said the teenager told gardai “it happened so many times I cannot think of one particular time” and described the abuse as occurring “nearly every night”.

He said while the man molested him he would ask him to “stop it, stop it” but the accused would just laugh. The man told him if he ever told anyone about the abuse, he would kill him “stone dead”. Defence counsel Kerida Naidoo BL said that the man’s IQ rested between the ranges of borderline and extremely low meant that he would have difficulty thinking though his actions.