JOHN DUNNE FROM DUNDUMR JAILED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN DUBLIN

In a case that has shocked the community of Dundrum and the wider Dublin area, John Dunne, a 49-year-old former bank executive, youth soccer coach, and scout leader, has been sentenced to prison for serious child pornography offenses. The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court handed down a sentence of two and a half years for multiple charges related to the exploitation and abuse of young boys.

John Dunne, who resided at The Birch, Riverdale, Dundrum, was found guilty of engaging in disturbing activities involving minors from the traveling community. He paid several boys to pose in the nude and semi-nude, instructing them to masturbate for his camera. Disturbingly, Dunne himself engaged in acts of masturbation in front of two of these children. The crimes spanned a period from July 1998 to August 2001, during which he was charged with three counts of possession and production of child pornography, along with five counts of using a child in the production of such material.

According to Detective Sergeant James Madden, who testified during the trial, authorities received intelligence from Interpol and US postal inspectors indicating that Dunne had accessed child pornography websites on the internet. Despite these suspicions, Gardaí found no evidence of online transactions in Dunne’s bank records. A search of his home in Stillorgan on March 8, 2002, uncovered photographs, negatives, a computer, film, and processing equipment. These items provided concrete evidence of his involvement in the illicit activities.

During police interviews, Dunne admitted to photographing and filming children in sexual poses. He explained that he had met boys from the traveling community in a park, paid them to masturbate for the camera, and photographed them in various states of undress. He also confessed to masturbating in front of two of the children himself. These activities reportedly occurred on numerous occasions over a three-year period, involving boys approximately 13 years old. Additionally, Dunne admitted to taking photographs of children while on holiday in South Africa and India.

Despite the gravity of the charges, Detective Sergeant Madden noted that Dunne cooperated fully with law enforcement and assisted in their investigation. Interestingly, none of the five boys depicted in the images filed complaints or wished to participate in legal proceedings against him. During the trial, the prosecution’s representative, Ms. Mary Rose Gearty BL, clarified that the images did not fall into the most severe category of child abuse.

Defense counsel Mr. Patrick Gageby SC described Dunne as having been a respected member of the community before his true nature was uncovered. He emphasized that there was no evidence of the material being circulated and highlighted Dunne’s previous roles as a football coach at Saint Patrick’s Athletics Soccer Club and a scout leader in Britain, both of which had no prior allegations or complaints against him. Gageby also pointed out that Dunne had lost his job as a sales and marketing manager at AIB due to the charges and had resigned from all community groups in disgrace.

Furthermore, Dr. Davina Walsh from the Granada Institute testified that Dunne had undergone 430 hours of therapy since March 2002. She described him as remorseful with genuine insight into the harm caused by his actions, and assessed his risk of re-offending as low.

Judge Yvonne Murphy sentenced Dunne to concurrent terms of two and a half years for five counts of using a child in the production of pornography, two years for the production of child pornography, and imposed a suspended two-year sentence for possession of such material. She also ordered that Dunne be placed on the sex offender’s register and remain under supervision for two years after his release, emphasizing the seriousness of his crimes and the need for ongoing monitoring.