A Dublin man https://dentalimplantsinaurora.com/ residing in Kincasslagh has averted jail after being present in possession of 40 indecent photographs on a cell phone.
Patrick O’Keefe, aged 39, was handed a 12-month suspended sentence when he appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Courtroom.
The daddy-of-one, with an handle at Chapel Highway, Belcruit, Kincasslagh, however initially from Crumlin in Dublin, pleaded responsible to the possession of kid pornography.
The photographs have been discovered on O’Keefe’s cellphone after he turned himself in to Dungloe garda station on October 2, 2020. He was charged for the offence, which is opposite to Part 6 (1) of the Little one Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998.
Detective Garda Simon Halpin instructed State prosecutor Ms Fiona Crawford BL that Gardai grew to become conscious of the possession and distribution of indecent photographs of kids following an alert from the nationwide centre for lacking and exploited youngsters, who stated an image had been uploaded and shared on Discord, a web based gaming and chat platform.
The IP handle was traced to a property at St Agnes Park in Crumlin, Dublin.
Gardai entered the home armed with a search warrant on October 2, 2022. O’Keefe’s father, Patrick Snr, celebrating his 74th birthday in the home together with his two daughters.
Detective Garda Halpin stated that it grew to become clear that Mr O’Keefe senior was not technically savvy and was, subsequently, not an individual of curiosity.
The accused man was on FaceTime to these on the get together. He had resided in the identical home till July 2020 when he moved to Donegal.
That evening, O’Keefe introduced himself at Dungloe garda station and handed over a Dell laptop computer, an Apple iPad and a Samsung cell phone.
Officers analysed the cellphone, which contained 122,000 photographs and 4,000 video recordsdata. Of these, 40 have been deemed to be baby pornography. A type of photographs confirmed penetrative sexual exercise between an grownup and a baby, whereas the others confirmed pre-teen or early teen females posing in a sexual method.
O’Keefe was interviewed at Milford Garda Station in September 2021 having instructed Gardai that he needed to get the matter sorted as quickly as doable.,
In an interview, he instructed investigating officers that what he had completed was ‘horrendous’. “I’m sorry that you just guys have to take a look at that,” he stated.
O’Keefe stated he had quite a bit happening on the time of the incident and, throughout a interval when he was isolating himself from others, he was taking medication and alcohol and viewing pornography. He instructed Gardai that he was not actively on the lookout for baby pornography on the time.
In October 2021, O’Keefe was reported as a lacking individual and was positioned within the Inishowen space.
Wearing a shirt and tie, O’Keefe took to the witness field and stated he understood the impression of his actions.
“I’m conscious that if folks don’t take a look at such a materials then it doesn’t exist,” he stated “I absolutely perceive the harm completed to the children concerned. The folks viewing it retains it going. I perceive that it contributes.”
O’Keefe instructed Choose John Aylmer that he didn’t understand how ‘I obtained to the place I obtained’ and stated: “I do know I’m not going to be there once more.”
O’Keefe stated he has lots of trauma from his childhood that he hasn’t handled and has chosen ‘poor coping mechanisms’.
“I’m sorry,” he added.
O’Keefe instructed the court docket that he suffers with an autoimmune situation that has resulted in a number of surgical procedures, together with the removing of sweat glands, and has left him with low shallowness.
The accused stated that he not too long ago misplaced his job of 12 years on account of this incident. He stated a few of his closest buddies have been colleagues and he has now misplaced these too.
Mr Colm Smyth SC represented O’Keefe alongside Mr Niall O’Neill BL, instructed by solicitor Mr Frank Dorrian. Mr Smyth stated his shopper has been ‘proactive’ in coping with the problems and requested Choose Aylmer to contemplate a non-custodial sentence.
“His total strategy has been accountable,” Mr Smyth stated. “There’s some substance in what he stated about felling upon these photographs.
“He has suffered in his private life and has introduced disgrace on himself and his household. That’s secondary to the younger individuals who have been used and abused in circumstances like this.
“He has misplaced his employment so there have been private penalties too.”
Choose Aylmer described the matter as ‘a critical offence’ and stated it merited a time period of 18 months imprisonment earlier than making an allowance for the mitigating components.
He stated O’Keefe was earlier than the court docket with out earlier convictions, voluntarily attended at a garda station together with his digital tools and offered a full admission about his involvement.
Choose Aylmer complimented O’Keefe for persevering with counselling on the One In 4 organisation ‘very efficiently’ and famous that he had troublesome experiences rising up which ‘sadly had a adverse impression on his growth’.
O’Keefe has already ‘suffered significantly’ having misplaced his employment not too long ago and can now be positioned on the intercourse offender’s register.
“Other than this outrageous offence, he has lived as an individual of in any other case good character,” Choose Aylmer stated.
O’Keefe was sentenced to 12 month in jail with the whole lot of the sentence upon O’Keefe coming into a bond to maintain the peace and be of excellent behaviour for 12 months.
Man caught with indecent photographs of kids on cellphone avoids jail was final modified: November 1st, 2023 by
