Former Dublin driving school instructor found with over 300 images of child sexual abuse material

By Eimear Dodd

A former Dublin driving school instructor found with over 300 images of child sexual abuse material has been handed a two-year suspended sentence.

Tony Curran (76) pleaded guilty to four counts of possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) at his then-address in Shanganagh Grove, Shankill, Co. Dublin in November 2020.

He has no previous convictions and has not come to other negative garda attention. He has since moved to a retirement village in Spain, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

Detective Garda Lorraine White told Maddie Grant BL, prosecuting, that the offending came to light after gardai obtained information from agencies in the United States.

Gardai searched Curran’s home under warrant in November 2020, while he was present.

He was co-operative, giving gardai his phone and showing them an app that appeared to be something else, but upon entering a code, it displayed a gallery containing CSAM.

Gardai seized his phone, a tablet, and two laptops, and later analysed them.

316 images were found across the four devices, comprising of 274 unique images and 63 duplicates.

Of the 316 images, 115 were classified as category one child sexual explicit images, 196 as category two child exposure and five as child anime.

The court was told that the representative images variously depicted pre-teen and toddler children in sexually explicit poses.

Some of these images also included adult males.

Curran made admissions when interviewed by gardai. He accepted that CSAM would be found on the tablet and the phone, but believed no images would be found on the laptops.

The court heard that a small number of images were found on the two laptops by the technical examination, in inaccessible areas of these devices.

The offence, known in law as possession of child pornography, carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

Imposing sentence today, Judge Cephas Power said these were “very serious offences” and that Curran’s culpability was high.

He noted the serious nature of the images themselves, the amount and that there was a “certain level of sophistication and planning” in the use of an app on a phone which changed into a gallery after a code was entered.

The judge also noted the harm done to society and that Curran “is complicit in the suffering” of the children depicted by possessing the material.

Judge Power said there is a “strong need” for deterrence relating to these cases, as they occur in private, are difficult to detect and the child victims “usually have no voice” to express consequences for them to the court.

He said the court had determined that the need for deterrence could be met by imposing a headline sentence and that there was “substantial mitigation” in this case, including the early guilty plea, co-operation and Curran’s difficult childhood.

He also noted that Curran has “suffered a significant and severe social punishment” as a result of his offending.

Judge Power set a headline sentence of three years, which he reduced to two years.

He suspended the sentence in full on strict conditions for three years, including probation supervision and that Curran does not work with or be in the company of children unsupervised.

Det Gda White agreed with Morgan Shelley SC, defending, that his client was co-operative and told gardai that while some of the devices were accessible to other family members, he alone was responsible.

Mr Shelley noted that his client has a long work history, most recently as a driving instructor, which he retired from after being contacted by Tusla to undertake a risk assessment.

A letter of apology from Curran was read to the court by counsel, in which he expressed shame, regret and took responsibility for his offending.

Curran’s marriage of 50 years broke down as a result of his offending, as well as his relationship with his children and grandchildren.

A report from One in Four, medical records and other letters were also handed to the court.

Curran also sought counselling to address his offending.

The court was told that Curran drifted into watching pornography using the internet for benign reasons, and his use escalated during Covid.

Mr Shelley said his client acknowledges the need to manage risk, which is one of the reasons why he moved to a retirement village, where he assists other residents, who are older than him.

Counsel noted his client was 70 at the time of his offence and had difficulties in his childhood.

He submitted it is “unusual for someone to commit a sexual offence at an advanced age” and suggested unresolved feelings about his difficult childhood may have been a contributing factor to Curran’s offending.

Mr Shelley asked the court to consider imposing a suspended sentence, noting his client’s early guilty plea, co-operation with gardai, and that the amount of material is at the lower end of the scale.