A 28-year-old Tralee man has avoided a prison sentence after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
Aaron Shrubb of Tralee, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography at an address in Killeen Heights back in 2021.
The images concerned were stored electronically on his mobile phone.
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Gardaí received intelligence from the digital storage site Dropbox in March 2021, about an account linked to the email address of Aaron Shrubb.
He had uploaded five images to the file hosting platform, which were found to contain child pornographic material.
This included child exposure and child sexual activity, and certain cartoon images depicting pre-pubescent girls aged between seven and ten years old.
Mr Shrubb made admissions to gardaí on arrest.
He told gardaí he had been homeless and then became addicted to pornography, which resulted from his own sexual abuse by another child when he was young.
Judge Behan said the children in these images were at the heart of this offending, that Mr Shrubb contributed to the harm done to them by creating a demand for this type of content, and it was a nightmare to think of these little children subjected to this behaviour.
Judge Behan said these children should never be de-personalised just because they’re on the internet; these are real children.
She noted however that Mr Shrubb had his own adverse childhood experiences, and he became involved with pornography at a difficult time.
She said he maintained he was appreciative that gardaí intervened, and he demonstrated insight to some extent.
Junior Counsel for the defence, Katie O’Connell said Mr Shrubb is genuinely committed to change, that he is making efforts to secure employment and long-term accommodation.
Ms O’Connell said he has maintained sobriety and is engaging with psychotherapy.
Judge Behan set a headline sentence of three years, but she suspended this in its entirety on a number of conditions.
She told him he can have a real and good future, and she is impressed with the steps he’s taken.
Before leaving court, Mr Shrubb spoke to apologise for his actions.
