A Rathmore man has been spared prison after pleading guilty to possession of 70 images classified as child pornography.
64-year-old Simon Bolt of Hollymount, Rathmore was handed a suspended sentence by Judge Sinead Behan this afternoon at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court.
The court heard that Mr Bolt’s offending only came to the attention of the gardaí after his 16-year-old daughter came across an image of concern on his computer.
The court was told that a garda sergeant in the Millstreet station received confidential information regarding the accused Mr Bolt, in early 2013.
The court heard that Mr Bolt’s then-16-year-old daughter saw an image on his computer, and she told an adult female who then provided this information to gardaí.
A search warrant executed on Mr Bolt’s house in March 2013 then led to the seizure of two electronic devices, an iMac desktop computer, and a laptop, and these were analysed by cybercrime investigators.
Gardaí found 33 images of children engaged in a sexual act with another child or an adult, across the two devices.
The devices also contained 34 images of child exposure, meaning images of child nudity, and three images of an animated or cartoon nature.
Senior Counsel for the defence, Ray Boland, said Mr Bolt was obtaining these images to pose as a young girl and engage in internet chatrooms with a man who is also involved in this activity.
Mr Boland said Mr Bolt also disclosed to him he had been abused as a child.
Judge Behan said that the offending involves the exploitation of defenceless children, that they are not in court and they cannot be helped from here, amplifies the wrong done to them.
Judge Behan added that the images were in his own home and seen by his daughter was an aggravating factor, and she said this must have been a very stressful and terrible thing for her to see on her father’s computer.
Judge Behan said the mitigating factors included that he had no previous convictions, entered a guilty plea, and did not come to the attention of gardaí since, adding he has had this hanging over his head for a decade.
She handed down a two-year sentence, suspended for three years, on condition he engages with a sexual offenders’ treatment programme and the probation services.
Mr Bolt will also be placed on the sex offenders’ register.
