Step-father jailed for photographing step-daughter in shower

This article contains references to child abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

By  Sonya McLean

A man who took photographs of his teenage step-daughter in the shower has been jailed for production of child abuse material.

The 46-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the girl, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to production of child pornography in that he knowingly produced 11 images of a female child which would be considered child pornography at a Dublin hostel on April 12, 2018.

Sergeant Brendan Casey told John Griffin BL, prosecuting, that gardaí were called to a hostel in Dublin on April 9, 2018 because there were concerns about a man with a child.

The child was 16 years old at the time and hostel staff told gardaí that there had been inappropriate contact between the man and the child. The man was 39 years old at the time and when staff tried to engage in conversation with him, he became protective of the girl and said she was fine. He left the hostel.

Gardaí viewed CCTV footage to assist in the identification of the man.

The man and the child moved on to another hostel but ultimately returned to the original hostel and staff contacted gardaí. Gardaí arrived at the hostel and seized the man’s phone where the images were discovered on the phone. The photographs had been taken on April 12, 2018.

Sentencing the man, Judge Martina Baxter said it was a monumental breach of trust where the man “took complete advantage of a young person” and that he was the person in control.

The reason given was “self-serving and I’m satisfied it was for his own gratification” …“and that was exploitation,” said the judge.  “Some pathetic excuse was provided” saying she asked him to take pictures of her to send on to her boyfriend, Judge Baxter noted.

She set a headline sentence of three years. She noted there was a European Arrest Warrant and said gardai were to be commended for their very thorough investigation.

In mitigation she noted his plea, as the young person who is now 23 was unavailable to give evidence. She also noted he has engaged with the Probation Service and appeared to have genuine insight.

Judge Baxter sentenced him to one year imprisonment and backdated it to February last, for time spent in custody.

Sgt Casey told Mr Griffin that a statement was taken from the teenage girl. She said she was originally from a different country. She lived with her mother and step-father in Ireland.

The man was interviewed three times and admitted taking photographs of his step-daughter while she was in the shower. He said he had been drunk at the time.

He failed to appear for his trial date on November 9, 2020 and had fled Ireland. He was later extradited back here and remanded in custody.

The court heard that the relationship had ended with the child’s mother and the child had stopped attending school when the relationship broke down.

It was accepted that the photographs had been deleted by the man but retrieved by the gardaí.

It was further accepted that there was no evidence that they had been distributed or shared. Some of the images were duplicates.

Defending counsel Anne Marie Lawlor SC handed in documentation to the court outlining the man’s dedication to rehabilitation.

Counsel said her client had remorse and shame for his involvement and asked the court to accept that as the teenager is no longer reachable, his plea of guilty was valuable to the prosecution.

Counsel asked the court to take into account that the images had been deleted, that it had been an isolated incident and that he had not distributed the images.