Dublin teenager admits guilt to possessing over 1,300 child sexual images

In Dublin, a 17-year-old secondary school pupil entered a guilty plea before Judge Paul Kelly for possessing and producing child pornography after a Garda Divisional Protective Service Unit investigation led to the seizure of his phone and iPad in January 2024. Examination by the Garda National Cybercrime Bureau revealed a substantial amount of sexual material, including 105 images and 46 videos in the child sexual category and thousands more in the child exposure category, many of which were duplicates.

Defence solicitor Orla Doolin highlighted that roughly half of the images were repeats and cited academic commentary suggesting the 1998 Child Trafficking and Pornography Act was not designed for cases involving minors using smartphones. The State sought transfer to the Circuit Court for harsher sentencing, but the Children’s Court’s maximum penalties were deemed appropriate. The teenager, who has dyspraxia, dyslexia and other diagnoses, is receiving specialised counselling and will remain on continuum bail while a psychiatric and probation report is prepared for sentencing.