Man on child pornography charges is given 'one more chance'
Aidan Coughan, aged 34, of Castlehill Park, Castlebar pleaded guilty to possessing 117 images and videos of child pornography
A Castlebar man who distributed child pornography has been given "one more chance" by a circuit court judge to address his offending behaviour.
Aidan Coughan, aged 34, of Castlehill Park, Castlebar pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to possessing 117 images and videos of child pornography on online storage accounts and to distributing child pornography.
Det Insp Gary McEntee told the court that he was contacted by the Garda National Protective Services Bureau on August 4, 2017, regarding child pornography that had been found on a Dropbox account registered under the name and personal email of the defendant.
Det Insp McEntee viewed a sample of these images and obtained a warrant on August 23, 2017, to search Coughlan’s place of residence. A laptop and two mobile phones were seized. When interviewed by gardaí, Coughlan admitted to uploading, viewing and distributing child pornography.
Barrister Diarmuid Connolly said his client now works as a chef in Galway. The defendant had been fully cooperative with gardaí during the investigation and gave them all the necessary codes to access the evidential material. He also made admissions regarding the seized devices prior to them having been inspected. Mr Connolly said the operation was not a sophisticated one and there was no commercial basis or financial gain involved for his client.
Evidence in the case was heard last February and the matter was adjourned by Judge Eoin Garavan.
When the case resumed last week, Judge Garavan said he was not satisfied with Coughlan’s attempts to address his offending in the intervening period. Coughlan had failed to partake in the Safer Lives treatment programme, as recommended by the Probation Service, and had not fully engaged with the supports available to him.
Judge Garavan told the defendant he was giving him "one more chance" to deal with the matter or else he would consider imposing a jail sentence. He requested an up-to-date probation report and medical report for the next court sitting on February 16 and also ordered Coughlan to complete the Safer Lives programme before that date.
