A man who was caught three images and eight movie files of child abuse material has been jailed for 15 months.
Lorcan Fahey (42) of Saint John Street, Blackpits, Dublin 8 pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to being in possession of child pornography at his home on May 30th, 2020. He has a previous conviction for the same offence from 10 years ago.
Det Gda Richard Mostyn told Emmet Nolan BL, prosecuting that a warrant was secured to search Fahey’s home and 11 items were seized including two smartphones.
During the search Fahey told gardaí "I can’t not see my kid again, but I did it". He didn’t elaborate any further and said nothing further to gardaí in interviews in October that year.
The phones were technically examined in August 2020 and the three image files and eight movie files were recovered. The content involved boys and girls between two and 17 years old either posing naked or in some instances engaged in sexual activity.
Det Gda Mostyn agreed with Philipp Rahn SC, defending that Fahey has a nine-year-old son.
He accepted that there was no suggestion of any "contact offending" by Fahey nor did he pay for any of the material.
Det Gda Mostyn further accepted that the majority of the files fall into the less explicit category.
Mr Rahn said his client is a good father and a trusted uncle and handed in a number of testimonials to support that.
He said a psychological report concluded that he was in the medium range of re-offending and there was no evidence to suggest that he experienced sexual attraction to prepubescent children.
Mr Rahn said his client had abused alcohol and compulsively viewed pornography which led to a desensitisation towards adult pornography.
He said Fahey was willing and keen to engage in therapy and appears to be remorseful and have insight into his offending behaviour.
Judge Martin Nolan noted that Fahey has a previous conviction for possession of images of child abuse and said he deserves a custodial term.
He acknowledged that Fahey had co-operated with the gardaí and freely handed over his mobile phones to be examined during a search of his home. Fahey was also registered as a sex offender and must comply with all the reporting requirements as deemed necessary for 10 years.
