EX-NAVY OFFICER ADMITS MORE CHILD SEX ABUSE MATERIAL OFFENCES ON BAIL
A former officer in the Royal Navy was found guilty again of sharing child abuse images while on bail for previous possession of extensive child exploitation material at his Westmeath home.In December, Mark Barlow, aged 62 and previously based in Killucan, was sentenced to two years behind bars after participating in disturbing online dialogues in 2023 with an undercover policeman from Yorkshire.
During these exchanges, he expressed fantasies involving young girls and toddlers.
On Thursday at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court, the ex-Navy serviceman admitted to new charges under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act related to the possession and dissemination of additional child abuse images between January 6th and 8th, 2025.
Defense attorney Stephen Byrne requested a adjournment to update the probation report on Barlow’s rehabilitation efforts.
It was also noted that the recent offence happened while Barlow was still out on bail for his earlier conviction.
A pre-sentence assessment in that previous case portrayed him as a low risk for re-offending, with the report acknowledging the new charges at the time.
Sentencing was deferred until a May hearing by Judge Keenan Johnson.
In his December ruling, Judge Kenneth Connolly remarked on the disturbing and voluminous collection of images featuring young females aged from six to mid-teens, describing it as “nothing short of disgusting.” Barlow, who is a father of three, was identified through an investigation involving Yorkshire and Humberside Police and Europol.
He was active online under the pseudonym Dave, using the screen name “Wow, that’s tight,” on a platform hosting illegal images of children.
Between May 2nd and June 6th, 2023, Barlow corresponded with an undercover officer under the alias Andrew.
The officer posed as a paedophile father abusing his children.
During explicit conversations, they discussed child abuse, which Barlow later claimed to Irish authorities was “purely fantasy on his part.” Authorities traced the officer’s IP to Barlow’s residence, and on September 29th, 2023, they raided his home, seizing his laptop, tablets, and phones.
These devices held an estimated 10,000 images and 50 videos depicting child abuse.
