DUBLIN MAN AVOIDS JAIL AFTER POSSESSING NEARLY 3,000 IMAGES OF CHILD ABUSE
A Dublin man named Keith Farrell, aged 50, of Le Fanu Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, has pleaded guilty to possessing a large amount of child sexual abuse material.He was found to have possession of 2,868 images of such material, which was recovered from his MacBook during a search of his home in October 2021.
The images included more than 1,300 of a sexual nature and 458 depicting child exposure.
The court was informed that Google provided information in May 2021 following a court order, revealing that Farrell had uploaded four images of child sexual abuse material.
Farrell was present during the search, cooperated fully, and provided passwords when asked.
He made full admissions during interviews with Gardaí and has no previous convictions.
The court considered the circumstances and found no aggravating factors like previous convictions or distribution.
The judge imposed a two-year sentence, suspended on strict conditions.
It was noted that possession of child sexual abuse material is common in this court, and the sentences are guided by higher court advice to consider non-custodial measures in the absence of aggravating factors.
