July 2004

Suspended sentence for child abuse images conviction

A 59-year-old man found with child abuse images purchased on the internet has been fined €1,000 and given a two-year suspended sentence by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Richard Hamilton, of Sydney Avenue, Blackrock, pleaded guilty to possession on May 27, 2002, of the images uncovered during a garda search of his personal computer at home.

Detective Inspector Kevin Heneghan told prosecuting counsel Fergal Foley BL the images showed children of both sexes engaged in sexual activities with each other and with adult males.

One picture, he said, showed “a clearly distressed” young girl with whom a man was having sexual intercourse.

Judge Desmond Hogan said that within the context of the seriousness of the crime Hamilton’s offending was on the lower end of the scale. Hamilton had neither redistributed the material nor had he engaged in discussions about them on internet chat lines.

Judge Hogan said he was suspending the sentence based on reports from the Granada Institute and the Probation and Welfare Services that the risk of his re-offending was very low. As a condition of the suspension, he is to continue to attend therapy and counselling at the Institute.

Judge Hogan certified Mr Hamilton as a sex offender following his guilty plea to an offence under the Child Pornography Act.