IRISH GARDA OFFICER CONVICTED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY POSSESSION
A Garda named Joseph O'Connor, aged 58, from West Dublin, was convicted of possessing child sex abuse images on his laptop.During the investigation, authorities seized a laptop which contained videos and images of child abuse.
The evidence included videos in the "recycle bin" depicting boys under 10 being sexually abused.
Two films involved boys under 17 being subjected to sexual acts by a man.
Multiple copies of 16 different images of children being sexually exposed or abused were also found.
The images and videos were most often stored in the "unallocated cluster" space of the hard drive, an area where deleted files are stored, accessible only via specialized software.
O'Connor pleaded not guilty to five counts of possessing explicit material and claimed he had never seen the material before, alleging a man named Patryk Farrell, who came to his home for sex days before the laptop was seized, had infected his computer.
However, after deliberation, the jury of 10 men and 2 women found him guilty of four counts, including possession of the original images found in a folder named "Spanked Boys" and explicit videos of child sex between July 30 and August 2, 2011.
He was acquitted of one count dealing with duplicates.
The court sentenced him to be remanded on continuing bail until the next hearing.
His legal team requested time to prepare reports for sentencing.
The judge thanked the jury and remanded O'Connor until Monday.
O'Connor, a long-serving officer who has been suspended since the allegations, maintains his innocence.
The case highlights serious concerns about child exploitation and the responsibilities of law enforcement officers.
