Dublin man in possession of 3000 child-porn images
A Dublin man who absconded before his trial in England for possession of child pornography in 2002 had his sentence adjourned for possession of over 3,000 similar images which were at the "upper end of the spectrum".
Jason Maguire (aged 24), of Killininny Court, Firehouse pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of child pornography under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act on July 28, 2006.
Sergeant Ivan Howlin said Maguire was the subject of a European arrest warrant after he failed to appear for trial in 2002 in England on charges of possession of child pornography there and would be extradited once proceedings in this jurisdiction had finished.
Judge Desmond Hogan remanded him in custody for sentence later to allow a probation report to be prepared.
Sergeant Ivan Howlin told Mr Bernard Condon BL, prosecuting, that during a search of Maguire's rented accommodation in Firhouse they seized 15 CD-R's (Recordable Compact Discs), a number of memory sticks and two hard disk drives (HDD).
These had 2,938 photos and 300 videos depicting naked children aged between two and 15 years old who were involved in or being subject to sexual acts. He said the images were at the "upper end of the spectrum".
Maguire agreed he had sole access to the computer equipment and admitted possession of pornography but not child pornography.
Sgt Howlin said Maguire was from Dublin but had spent time in Wales where his mother lived. He had no previous convictions and lived in rented accommodation since his return to Dublin.
Sgt Howlin agreed with defence counsel, Mr Remy Farrell BL, that there were a large number of "conventional" pornographic images discovered as well as the child pornography.
He agreed that Maguire was the subject of a European arrest warrant after he failed to appear for trial in 2002 at Chester Crown Court in England on similar charges and would be surrendered to authorities there in due course.
Mr Farrell said Maguire had worked in the computer industry but lived a "solitary existence" and had "an introverted aspect to his personality".
He said Maguire's mother was supportive of him and had visited him in prison several times since he was taken into custody in July 2006 but made it clear to him that she wished him to get therapy.
