Man jailed for making child porn featuring friend’s sleeping children

A sex offender described as posing a “serious threat to society” has been jailed for five years for sexually assaulting a boy and producing and possessing child pornography.

The man, who cannot be identified, made child pornography involving two sleeping boys and accumulated thousands of child porn images and videos from the internet.

The 39-year-old man, who had returned to Ireland after serving a sentence for child sexual abuse in another country, had created the material involving the boys after befriending their family.

The boys were aged between 10 and 11 and four and five at the time.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the boys appeared to be unaware of the offences to date and reporting restrictions were imposed in the case to avoid possibly identifying them.

The accused man pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault against the older boy and to producing child pornography involving the boy on dates between September and December 2012. He also pleaded guilty to producing child pornography involving the younger boy in July 2013.

He further admitted possession of child pornography in December 2014 and contravening the provisions of a sex offenders order in May 2016.

‘Predilections’

Judge Martin Nolan said there was “no perfect solution” in relation to the man’s “predilections”. He said the man was a paedophile who has a “very unhealthy, criminal and dangerous interest in young boys”.

“He has serious predilections. At times he can’t control those predilections. Unless he does, he will be a serious threat to society,” he said.

Judge Nolan noted there was “no such thing in our society as preventative detention” and said he had to sentence the man taking into account all factors of the case before him.

He imposed a sentence of six-and-half years and suspended the final 18 months on a number of conditions, including that the man engage in services and counselling available to him in custody.

“There’s no perfect solution in relation to (this man’s) particular predilection but this court must sentence him justly for the crimes he has committed,” Judge Nolan said. “I hope for (his) sake, and particularly for society, that he conquers his particular predilection.”