Circuit Court Judge Brian Curtin sought to access adult pornography at a time in 1999 when he was under severe stress and was abusing alcohol, according to a letter from the judge's solicitor read to the High Court yesterday.
"At no time did he knowingly seek to access child pornography" The letter stated there was "reason to believe" that "manipulation" of Judge Curtin's computer had occurred and that a computer expert retained by the judge confirmed information from gardaí that there were viruses on the judge's computer.
The letter, dated July 20th, 2004, was sent from Judge Curtin's Tralee-based solicitor, Robert Pierse, to Denis O'Donovan TD, chairman of the select committee set up to investigate the alleged misbehaviour of Judge Curtin.
It was read by John Rogers SC, for Judge Curtin, at the opening yesterday of Judge Curtin's challenge to the procedures adopted by that committee.
In the letter, Mr Pierse said: "With regard to the bringing of a criminal charge against our client, it is and always has been our client's position that he is entirely innocent of that charge and indeed was acquitted in respect of same by a jury.
"This acquittal ought to be respected and due acknowledgment thereof given by one organ of the State (the Oireachtas) to another (the courts) and to the citizen (Judge Curtin) . . . At all relevant times, computers are vulnerable to invasion by persons who wish to control or manipulate the information and materials contained on other people's computers.
"This vulnerability extends to third parties being able, if sufficiently skilled and so inclined, to deposit on the computers of others materials which the owners of the computer do not wish to have there and have no intention of having there.
"There is reason to believe that such manipulation of our client's computer occurred. Viruses have been detected by the Garda Síochána on our client's computer of a type described as 'Trojan Horses'.
"Trojan Horses are viruses which enter the computer of another without the consent or wish of the owner and alter the electronic sequences on the hard disk of the computer in such a way as to make it possible to intrude on to the said disk such material as the malefactor may wish to leave there.
"Trojan Horses are capable of downloading child pornographic images or any other images on to a computer of others without the others' knowledge or consent.
"Prior to the seizure of the said computer, our client did become aware that his computer had been invaded by unwanted images and, as soon as be became aware of this fact, he took vigorous, but obviously ineffectual steps to get rid of them from his machine."