The head of a project investigating paedophile activity has expressed concern at an "inappropriate" focus on the identity of the girl at the centre of the Garda investigation into a pornographic image of a schoolgirl.
Yesterday it emerged that the investigation had switched from Cork to Dublin, after computer software was used to enhance the image. Gardaí have been working on identifying the crest on the girl's uniform, using special equipment to study the image. But they have refused to say if they have identified her school.
Last night, Prof Max Taylor of the Cork-based Copine Project, which investigates the exchange of information among paedophiles, said that whoever the child in question was, the images would stay with her for the rest of her life.
"That kid has now been placed under enormous pressure, and one product of this is that she is highly unlikely to disclose what happened. It is one thing to speculate on who took the photo, but it is inappropriate to target a child as part of a news story," he said.
The investigation was initially centred on the Glanmire area of Cork, after gardaí received complaints about the sexually explicit image, thought to be of a minor, which is believed to have been circulated among hundreds of secondary school students.
Prof Taylor said: "Whatever her role is in the production of the images, one thing we do know about the involvement of children in the production of abusive images is that very often their thinking in coming forward revolves around, 'Will I be identified?'. Let's not speculate where the child is - we need to look at the offender. In this case, it might be someone who is the same age as the child."