A former driving instructor from Shankill has avoided jail after he pleaded guilty to possessing 361 images of child sex abuse, 115 of which were the worst category.
Tony Curran (76), formerly of Shangana Grove, Shankill, Co . Dublin, but now residing in Málaga, Spain, appeared before Judge Cephas Power at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court this afternoon.
Prosecuting counsel, Maddie Grant BL, was aided in giving evidence by Detective Garda Lorraine White, who outlined that the accused was discovered in possession of the offending material in November 2020.
The court heard that Gardaí received an alert from the US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and that investigations led to the isolation of a phone number and email address linked to Curran.
Gardaí from the District Detective Unit searched the accused’s address on the 26th of November 2020, and found him present at the home with his wife, who the court heard he is no longer in a relationship with due to his offending.
Detective Garda Grant read from a sample of the images seized, which the court heard included images of “preteen” and “toddler” girls having their vaginas penetrated by the penises of adult males.
One image showed a female toddler looking at the camera with her mouth open as an adult male inserted his penis into the child’s mouth.
Another image showed a preteen boy and girl engaged in a sexual act while both were naked.
Detective Garda White told the court that four devices that were seized from the property were found to contain child sex abuse material and that some of this was hidden behind an application which had the appearance of a normal calculator app.
The accused also had 196 images of “child exposure”, which is an image where a child has their genital or anal area exposed, and five “child anime” or “hentai” images, the court heard.
Ms Grant told the court that when Gardaí searched his home, Curran took ownership of the offending material.
Defending counsel, Morgan Shelley SC, argued that his client, who sat with his head down for most of the hearing, has no previous convictions and has lost contact with his wife of 52 years, his children, and grandchildren due to his behaviour.
He said Curran was himself sexually abused as a child but “as a man of his generation” felt he would not be believed if he came forward. He said that his client’s history of being abused gave him “insight” into the suffering of the children depicted in the images.
Mr Shelley argued that his client had begun watching pornography on the internet during COVID and that this had “escalated” into viewing child pornography.
Sentence
Having heard the facts, Judge Power said that Curran had committed “a very serious offence” and that the images were of a “serious nature” because they depicted “preteens and toddlers in sexual activity with adults in some of them”.
Some of the images he said included “penetrative sex”.
He said that a “certain level of sophistication in planning in the use of the app” to view the images was present.
“There are children in these videos,” he said, adding, “the majority involved vile and horrific sexual practices”.
The court set a headline sentence of three years, saying that there was “substantial mitigation” due to Curran’s age, his guilty plea, his cooperation during the investigation, his expressions of remorse and his lack of previous or subsequent convictions.
Judge Power said the accused has “paid a heavy personal price” as his marriage has ended, as well as having “no contact” with his children and grandchildren.
He noted that Curran is now “assisting the more frail residents” in his retirement village in Spain and was a victim of abuse “that is a feature” of many people who engage in this type of offending.
Judge Power said it “weighs upon the court” that strong deterrents are necessary in cases like this, and that “the victims themselves have no voice and cannot outline for the court the effect on them.”
Noting that the images involved in the offending were “horrific” in nature, the court ordered that the accused not work with young children or be in their company unless supervised and that the Spanish authorities are to be notified.
The court noted the legal precedent of DPP vs Loving, saying that there was an absence of relevant aggravating factors in the case.
The custodial portion of the sentence was suspended in full for three years.