FIONNBARR KENNEDY FROM BRAY DUBLIN AVOIDS JAIL AFTER CHILD SEX ABUSE IMAGE SCANDAL

In a case that has shocked the community of Bray and the wider Dublin area, Fionnbarr Kennedy, aged 56, a shop manager from Kingsmill Lane in Bray, was found to possess a significant collection of child sexual abuse images. The incident came to light in June 2018 when authorities uncovered evidence linking Kennedy to the possession of these illicit materials during a raid on his workplace, M Kennedy and Sons, located on Harcourt Street in Dublin.

According to reports, the Gardaí were alerted to Kennedy’s activities after a credit card company flagged suspicious online transactions. This tip-off prompted an investigation that ultimately led to a search of Kennedy’s workplace. During the operation, law enforcement officers seized two mobile phones and a laptop belonging to Kennedy. He readily acknowledged that the laptop was his personal device and that no one else had access to it.

Subsequent forensic analysis of the laptop revealed a disturbing cache of 466 child sexual abuse images stored on one of its hard drives. The investigation did not find any illicit material on either of the phones seized during the search. Gardaí Detective Michael Fitzgerald provided details to the court, stating that among the images recovered, 180 depicted girls under the age of 17 engaged in sexual acts. An additional 280 images showed underage girls with exposed genitalia. The remaining images were identified as computer-generated, indicating a disturbing level of digital manipulation.

Kennedy, who resides in Bray, was charged with possession of child sexual abuse images. He appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court and pleaded guilty to the offence, which took place at M Kennedy and Sons on Harcourt Street on July 27th, 2010. The court heard that the investigation into Kennedy’s activities was delayed due to a backlog at the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau, which did not analyze the laptop until 2015. During this period, Kennedy was re-interviewed but did not make any admissions.

He was formally charged in June 2016. Initially, Kennedy requested a trial date, but in April of the following year, he changed his plea to guilty. On Tuesday, the court sentenced him to two and a half years in prison; however, the sentence was fully suspended, meaning Kennedy will not serve time in prison unless he commits another offence. The case highlights ongoing concerns about online child exploitation and the importance of cybercrime investigations in safeguarding vulnerable victims.