A 37-YEAR-OLD chef who has been treated like a “pariah” in his adopted town of Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim, since being charged with possession of child pornography was jailed for a year yesterday.
Malaysian-born Charles Joachim, who has lived in Ireland since 2002, was arrested after taking his computer to be repaired, Carrick-on-Shannon Circuit Court heard. The court heard that gardaí found 22 child pornography files on the computer featuring images of children aged from six to 12 years, after being alerted by the owner of the store. The defendant, of Courthouse View, pleaded guilty to one charge of possession of child pornography on October 10th, 2006.
The files included three “image files” of girls aged from eight to 12 in sexual poses and 19 short movie files of children aged from six to 12, some of whom were depicted having sex with male adults.
Det Garda Michael Hogan said the number of files involved was small for such cases. There was no evidence of a pornographic ring, and he was satisfied the material had been for personal use. “It would appear to be pure curiosity,” he said.
The court heard the accused, who has no previous convictions, and who is supporting two children in Malaysia, arrived in Carrick on Shannon in 2002 and had worked as a chef in a hotel and in other jobs. He had lost his job after being charged.