Man, 32, who sent naked pictures of himself to underage girls is jailed for four years
A man who sent naked photos of himself to underage girls through a messaging service and requested similar images from the children has been jailed for production and distribution of child pornography.
David Byrne, 32, also engaged in conversations online with other people who had a similar interest in child pornography.
He asked for images and videos of children up to 14 years old but said he prefers images of children aged six or seven.
Garda Philip Munds said that conversations, which were printed out following technical examination of many of Byrne's devices, outlined discussions which involved Byrne describing the best video he had seen as involving a child who was about nine years old.
Byrne told others that he is “doing stuff with eight and nine year olds on Snapchat” but said he couldn't record the interactions.
He again requested images of children under 12 years old.
Byrne pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of and production of child pornography at his home on dates between October 11, 2016 and January 11, 2017.
He has previous convictions for drink driving and public order offences.
Gda Munds told Judge Martin Nolan that there was at least 11 incidences of Byrne interacting directly with underage girls, sending images of himself and requesting photographs of them.
Defence counsel, Lorcan Staines SC, made an application that his client's address would not be published in any reporting of the case as he was concerned there could be consequences.
Judge Nolan initially granted the order prohibiting the publication of Byrne's address but later noted this would be impractical as “every David Byrne in the city would be suspect.”
He ordered that a photograph of Byrne be printed with the story in order to distinguish him in the absence of the publication of his address.
Judge Nolan noted the seriousness of the offences and said Byrne's interactions with third parties and children were very serious.
He took into account the mitigating factors including his guilty plea, co-operation, good work history and the contents of psychiatric and other reports handed into court.
Judge Nolan also noted Byrne had difficulties in his own background and problems he was doing his best to address.
He noted that in the case of a count of possession of this material and in the absence of aggravating factors a non-custodial sentence would be open to the court, but said the facts of the second count involving distribution brought the case into a much more serious area.
He imposed concurrent sentences totaling four years and suspended the final two years on strict conditions.
Gda Munds told Gráinne O'Neill BL, prosecuting, that gardaí were contacted by the County Sheriff Office in Albuquerque in the United States, with information that suggested that Byrne was involved in the sexual exploitation of children.
Byrne's home was searched the following January during which he handed over a mobile phone for which he gave gardaí the pin code.
A tablet, a Playstation 3 and Playstation 4, another mobile phone and a laptop were also seized and technically examined.
Gda Munds said 159 pictures and 21 videos were considered “child explicit” in that they showed children in some form of sexual contact, while 20 videos and 103 pictures involved children exposing themselves.
A further 66 videos and 157 images showed children in suggestive poses.
Gda Munds agreed with Lorcan Staines SC, defending, that Byrne has not come to garda attention since and has been monitored while on bail pending sentence.
He has since lost his job and was living at home with his mother at the time of his arrest, but she has since died.
Byrne is the youngest of five siblings.
Mr Staines told Judge Nolan that his client attended at One in Four for therapy for perpetrators of sexual abuse in an attempt to get insight into his own behaviour.
He said he was paying for the therapy himself every two weeks at a time when he was not earning much money.
Byrne later attended his own GP to discuss the case and was treated for acute anxiety.
He was also recommended for psychiatric evaluation but this has not happened yet.
A probation report, which concluded that Byrne was at a high risk of re-offending, stated that he engaged fully with the Probation Service and had been making efforts to deal with his mental health difficulties.
Mr Staines submitted that sending such images to children and requesting photographs from them represents “extraordinarily serious criminal behaviour” but asked the court to accept that Byrne had not re-offended while he was on bail, though he had been closely monitored.
“He has demonstrated to the court that he is willing to engage with the various services that are available to him,” Mr Staines said.
