Irish man sexually exploited and blackmailed Polish girl (12) for pictures

Tom Tuite

A Midlands man accused of producing child abuse material and online sexual exploitation after he blackmailed and "controlled" a 12-year-old girl in Poland has been refused bail.

The Irish man in his 30s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Dublin District Court on Saturday following his arrest by officers from the Garda National Protective Services Unit.

The accused, who has yet to enter a plea, was arrested in Dublin, where he has been living recently.

Detective Sergeant Catherine Curtin objected to bail.

The man from Longford is accused of two counts of possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child, organising a child for production and distribution of child pornography on dates in 2022 and the following year.

The charges, on conviction, are punishable by maximum sentences of five or 14 years.

Citing the strength of evidence, the detective sergeant told Judge Derek Cooney that a search warrant was executed at his family home in the Midlands by gardaí from the online child exploitation unit and local officers.

A Samsung mobile phone was seized from his bedroom and found to contain 1089 images and 292 videos of child abuse material.

On another date, gardaí returned and seized another phone containing several hundred other images classified as child pornography.

The connected sexual exploitation charge involved claims that from October 30th, 2022 and January 10th, 2023, a 12-year-old girl in Poland was contacted through social media by someone claiming to be a young male.

The contested bail hearing was told that the girl was persuaded to send naked pictures of herself. The accused was the person who was said to have communicated with her.

He allegedly began to blackmail her for more sexual images and videos. It was claimed he threatened that “the files will be posted online if she did not cooperate”.

The girl was identified from data analysis of phones seized from the accused, the court heard. One phone also had a picture of the child’s passport showing her date of birth, and he knew her true age.

The court heard the accused, in a Telegram chat, asked another user to open an online cloud folder with a collection of leaked intimate images.

The court heard the accused allegedly told the second user, “I can BM her,".

"BM stands for blackmail," said Detective Sergeant Curtin.

He chatted with another male and offered to sell him images of the same girl, the court was also told.

It was alleged that he controlled and directed her activities for the production of child pornography. Examination of devices purportedly showed he used multiple Snapchat accounts and “coerced her into making numerous images and videos under his direction”.

He also controlled her Snapchat account and had access to her contacts after she sent him her password, the court heard.

She feared there was a risk of similar offences if released on bail, which was denied.

He made no reply when charged and did not address the court. His solicitor, Margaret MacEvilly, said her client was attending counselling and raised issues over the delay in commencing the prosecutions. The defence also disputed claims that the accused had been disowned by his family.

Judge Cooney remanded him in custody to appear again next week and to obtain directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions. Legal aid was granted.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.