Court told of 'Russian influence' in Mayo child porn case
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A man who admitted having a problem with child pornography has received a suspended prison sentence.
Lee Carroll, aged 33, of Cloonkeen, Castlebar, pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to the possession and distribution of child pornography.
In June 2020, Gardaí were alerted to an allegation of child pornography being uploaded to the social media platform Instagram. An Instagram account was tracked back to Carroll and on June 17, 2020, a search was carried out at his home. He answered the door to officers and immediately admitted he had a problem with child pornography.
Gardai seized a number of phones and devices. A number of the phones contained 206 images of ‘category one’ child pornography and 16 videos which also depicted children involved in sexual acts. A further 171 images and one video were deemed ‘category two’, which showed children’s genitalia, were uncovered.
A laptop contained 53 ‘category one’ images and 125 ‘category one’ videos as well as 186 ‘category two’ images and 12 ‘category two’ videos. The children involved were aged 12 and over.
Desmond Dockery, SC, representing Carroll, said his client had been living alone at the time. He had undiagnosed dyslexia and his intellectual abilities are in the bottom 13% of society. Carroll had a difficult upbringing and displays traits consistent with autism but this requires further exploration. He has no previous convictions.
Mr Dockery said Carroll claimed he had come under the influence of a Russian man named ‘Thomas’ who he met while gaming on X-box. It was claimed that the Russian man caused Carroll to compromise himself. The court heard there was some evidence to corroborate this.
Mr Dockery said Carroll lacks confidence and any sense of belonging and "was ripe for some manipulation". He had developed an addiction to this type of material.
The court heard the distribution charge related to one 15-second video.
Judge Garavan said this was a sad case involving an "isolated and lonely young man". However, he stated the real victims are the children who were "brutalised and abused" in the images and videos.
“They are victims of predatory men like Mr Carroll,” the judge stated.
Judge Garavan said the claim that Carroll was led down a "sinister path" by a Russian man named Thomas would appear to hold some truth.
The judge imposed a suspended sentence of 18 months on the distribution charge and an additional 14 month suspended sentence for possession of child pornography.
