Ballina man sent sexually explicit messages to girl, 11

A Ballina man who sent sexually explicit messages to an 11-year-old girl he never met has received a suspended jail term.

Raymond Clarke, aged 54, of Farrandeelin, Ballina, pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to two charges of communicating with a child for the purpose of facilitating sexual exploitation. The offences occurred between January 29, 2020, and February 7, 2020. The child, who is from Northern Ireland, cannot be named as she is a minor.

Detective Garda Michael McGrath said a complaint was made to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) by the mother of the 11-year-old girl after finding inappropriate messages on her phone. The messages had been sent through WhatsApp and Snapchat.

The court heard that Clarke made no effort to hide his identity and was easily identifiable on both platforms.

Prosecuting barrister Patrick Reynolds said specialist officers interviewed the young girl and sent evidence to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB) at Garda HQ. The incident was then referred to Ballina Garda Station and the defendant's home was searched on June 13, 2020.

Clarke was cautioned and he was informed that the person he had been communicating with was aged just 11. He stated he had been unaware of this and believed she was aged 19 or 20.

Several devices were seized by Gardaí and Clarke cooperated fully with gardaí. 

Det Gda McGrath said Clarke first made contact with the girl when she commented on a social media site after he uploaded a picture of a snow scene. A conversation ensued and Clarke began sending highly sexual messages and several images.

Det Gda McGrath agreed with Mr Reynolds that the content of the Snapchat and WhatsApp messages was "very explicit". Clarke requested the girl to carry out sexual acts upon herself and described in explicit detail the sexual acts he intended to carry out on her. He also detailed the sexual acts he required her to carry out on him.

The defendant also asked the girl not to communicate with him while other people were present. He never met the girl in person.

Clarke attended Ballina Garda Station voluntarily on November 19, 2020, to be questioned by gardaí. When the defendant was asked whether he was aware the girl was still in school, he said he was but believed she was aged 16, which he also believed was the legal age of consent.

The court heard that Clarke has no previous convictions.

In a victim impact statement, the girl said she "felt scared" and began self-harming following the incident.

“When I think of it now, I am disgusted by what he said to me and the images he shared with me. These were very inappropriate for someone my age,” she said. “I found the ordeal very upsetting, and my confidence has been affected and I find it difficult to make new friends.”

Defending barrister Patrick Murphy said this was an "isolated incident" and there had been no significant planning or a high level of pre-meditation. Clarke is very remorseful.

“He was lonely, a bit depressed and he suffered a low point in his own mental health, and he realises he should not have communicated like this,” Mr Murphy explained.

The barrister said his client has been married for 16 years, and while his wife has great difficulty with what happened, they remain together. The defendant also has a good employment history. 

Judge Eoin Garavan said Clarke clearly should have known better but he did not feel a prison term would benefit the defendant or society. The judge imposed a two-and-a-half-year sentence, which he suspended.