Limerick man who shared baby rape videos and said he wanted to eat a child is jailed

David Raleigh

WARNING: Readers may find the following report upsetting

A man who said he wanted to kidnap and eat a child, and who distributed videos and images of children being raped, was jailed for eight years on Thursday.

Convicted paedophile, John Weber, (48), from Limerick, was finally named publicly after Judge Colin Daly lifted reporting restrictions in the case. Weber’s home address cannot be published.

Weber pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including one count of possession of child sex abuse material; four counts of distributing the material; and nine counts of producing the illegal material.

In “deeply disturbing” online chats with other paedophiles, Weber said he wanted to “kidnap torture and rape children”, and he “invited others to travel” to a location to do this, said judge Daly.

Limerick Circuit Criminal Court heard Weber had 111 videos and images of child sex abuse, including very young children being raped, on an iPhone and iPad that gardaí found in his home, during planned searches of the property, in 2024 and 2025.

Judge Daly said the “majority” of the videos and images were “Category A” material, meaning they were the most explicit on a scale of officially categorised child sex abuse material.

Weber also spoke to other paedophiles online about “snuff” movies, which are films that depict killings typically in the context of sexual violence.

He told others in online chats that he lived next to a creche, and that he had stood on a balcony, with his penis exposed, while watching children below him.

The court heard material found on Weber’s electronic devices included the rape of a six-month-old baby, an 18-month-old toddler, a violent rape of a six-year-old girl who was clutching a teddy bear at the time, an eight-year-old boy whose hands were tied with chains, and a five-year-old child tied in chains and dressed in fetish and bondage clothing.

Weber communicated with other paedophiles on social media apps KIK and Snapchat, Session, and TeleGaurd.

The paedophile told others online that he wanted to cannibalise a child, the court previously heard.

Weber stated: “I would love to kill a child today, I would love to be a murderer.”...“I wanna cannabilise a child.”...“I know how to make a child bleed.”

Weber also stated: “There is nothing as good as a bleeding child”...“Most kids I see I want to rape”.

Judge Daly said the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, in the United States, made two referrals about Weber to gardaí.

This triggered an investigation led by Det Garda James Muldowney of Divisional Protective Services Unit (DPSU), Henry Street Garda Station, Limerick.

Muldowney said Weber stated in online chats with others that he “would love to torture, rape and kill a child, and that he (Weber) has been so close a few times”.

Weber also sent his therapist a video of a naked eight-year-old boy and the counsellor immediately alerted gardaí.

Muldowney described Weber as “an immediate threat” and “risk” to children and a “danger to the community”.

Weber claimed he had been sexually abused as a child and that he had been sexually assaulted while working as a sex worker in England.

Weber told gardaí he was HIV positive but that he was not taking prescribed medication to stop the spread of the virus to others and that he was having unprotected sexual intercourse with others.

Weber stated in online chats with others: “You can help me find lads to infect today.”

Weber handed a letter of remorse to his barrister Liam Carroll, who in turn shared it with the prosecution and the judge.

Carroll told the court that Weber’s letter was “a further acknowledgement of his wrongdoing”.

Weber told gardaí he had been accessing child sex abuse material since 1997, when he was aged 19.

Judge Daly said the conversations between Weber and others online was “extremely serious” and the material found on Weber’s phone and iPad was “abhorrent” “depraved” and contained “extreme sexual violence on children”.

Judge Daly said Weber’s conversations with others may have also “incited” others to act out “violent and departed” abuse of children.

Weber also spoke of young relatives in a “vile” way when discussing child sex abuse with others online, it was heard.

Judge Daly said Weber “sought out” child sex abuse material and shared it with “other paedophiles” and continued doing so a year after his house was first searched by gardaí.

Judge Daly said a probation report concluded that Weber was of “higher than average risk of reoffending”, and that it appeared Weber was “indicative of someone who had become lost in his own depravity”.

Weber had a history of offending, and was also convicted previously for stealing from an organisation to which he had held a “senior position”, said the judge.

The judge commended Det Garda Muldowney for the success of the garda investigation into Weber, as well as the professional and sensitive way Muldowney had explained the background to the case in court.

The judge reduced a headline sentence of 12 years to 10 years with the final two years suspended.

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. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.