TIMMY DUGGAN FROM TRALEE INVOLVED IN CHILD SEX OFFENCES AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASES IN CO KERRY AND LIMERICK

In a disturbing series of criminal activities, Timmy Duggan, a 35-year-old man from Mountain Lodge, Annagh, Tralee, Co Kerry, has been convicted and sentenced for a wide range of child sexual offences, including the exploitation and abuse of minors, as well as involvement in the production and distribution of child pornography. Duggan, who originally hails from Moyvane in County Kerry, was previously brought to trial on an extensive list of 47 sexual offences against children. However, the prosecution and defense agreed to a plea deal that resulted in Duggan pleading guilty to 22 charges, which encompass child sexual assault, child exploitation, inciting children to engage in sexual acts, possessing images of naked children, and encouraging others, including the victims’ mothers, to produce child pornography. These offences took place across locations in Limerick and Kerry between 2015 and 2022.

He was ultimately sentenced to eight years in prison, with the final year suspended, reflecting the severity of his crimes. The court proceedings also saw the conviction of a woman in her 30s, who was sentenced to three years in prison, with 18 months suspended, for selling naked photographs of her own children to Duggan. She admitted to sending him 19 images of her son and daughter between January 2018 and July 2019, for which she received €3,500. Both Duggan and the woman have been registered as sex offenders, underscoring the gravity of their offenses.

During the trial, the court heard that Duggan, a four-time Kerry badminton champion, engaged in predatory behavior by attempting to solicit sexual favors from young children through offering them lollipops and cash. His own legal representative, Mark Nicholas, described Duggan’s actions as “absolutely despicable.”

Further investigations revealed that Duggan’s criminal activities extended beyond his direct actions. Following disclosures made during police interviews, authorities arrested a Kerry mother who admitted to taking naked photographs of her young son and daughter and selling these images to Duggan. The woman’s legal counsel explained that she was psychologically and financially vulnerable, having recently lost her partner. She reportedly met Duggan through a dating app and initially engaged in sex work before exploiting her children for financial gain. The court heard that she would have to live with the stigma and burden of her actions for the rest of her life.

Judge Elva Duffy, presiding over the case at Tralee Circuit Court, condemned Duggan’s conduct as “disturbing, depraved and obscene,” and emphasized that the mothers involved had breached fundamental trust. A probation report indicated that Duggan posed a “higher than average risk of reoffending,” and the court ordered him to abstain from using internet-enabled devices without approval, to cooperate with probation services, and to participate in psychological and sexual offender treatment programs. The judge also highlighted that the women who facilitated Duggan’s crimes by providing images or allowing access to their children had betrayed their roles as caregivers, offering their children up for financial gain rather than protection.

Historical records show that Duggan first came under police scrutiny in April 2016 while working as an assistant manager at a supermarket in Limerick. It was then that a father of two girls, aged 10 and 11, discovered Duggan had befriended his daughters and sent them requests for naked photos via Snapchat. Duggan voluntarily surrendered his mobile phone, laptop, and social media accounts to authorities. In 2019, further investigations revealed that Duggan had been engaging with women seeking to access their children, leading to his arrest and subsequent admissions of grooming the two girls in Limerick three years earlier. He also disclosed other incidents involving receiving naked images of children from their mothers and attempting to lure two girls into his car in Co Kerry by offering cash for sexual acts.

Judge Duffy described Duggan as “calculating” and “pre-planned” in his offenses, noting that he preyed on women and manipulated them into betraying their children’s trust. Duggan’s sentence was backdated to October 19, 2021, when he was initially detained. The court also ordered Duggan to refrain from using computers or mobile phones with cameras unless authorized and to make all electronic devices available to community agencies after his release. He is required to engage with probation services, attend a sexual offenders’ treatment program, and undergo psychological counseling. The court emphasized that Duggan’s co-accused women must also participate in probation and addiction therapy programs.

In March 2022, Duggan, a former Irish badminton champion, admitted to paying mothers to allow him to sexually exploit their children. He pleaded guilty to nine charges before Tralee Circuit Court, which included paying women to obtain access to their children for sexual exploitation, engaging in sexual activity with the children’s mothers while the children were present, and other related offences. Duggan’s criminal activities involved meeting women through online dating, social media, and classified ads, paying thousands of euros for images and videos of children, and exploiting these minors for his gratification. The victims, along with their siblings, have been taken into state care.

He appeared in court via video link from custody, where he admitted to paying the mother of a seven-year-old girl to use her for sexual exploitation at an address in Kerry between January 2019 and September 2021. Duggan also pleaded guilty to paying another woman to facilitate the same girl’s exploitation and to engaging in sexual activity with the girl’s mother in the child’s presence. Additional charges included multiple counts of sexual assault against the girl, as well as communicating via technology to facilitate her sexual exploitation. In a related case, Duggan and a woman are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to producing and distributing child pornography, including exploiting her own son. The woman admitted to producing online conversations discussing the sexual assault of children and to other related offences. Duggan also previously pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children on his mobile phone and to encouraging activities under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1988.

Another woman involved in these cases is also awaiting sentencing after admitting to charges related to the sexual exploitation of children in Munster. Duggan’s history of criminal behavior extends back to his teenage years, when he began dominating the local badminton scene in Kerry, winning multiple titles at the Tralee Sports Centre in 2004. His pattern of predatory and exploitative conduct has shocked the community and prompted ongoing legal proceedings to ensure justice for his victims.