Man who tried to send explicit material to teens was caught in online sting
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A man sent explicit images and messages to three online decoys he believed were young teenage girls.
Brendan Glynn, aged 57, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to charges of attempting to send explicit material to a child.
Det Gda John Lynskey told the court that on February 21, 2023, Gardaí were contacted by a volunteer with an online group known as the Child Protection Agency.
The volunteer had set up a fake Facebook profile for a 14-year-old girl called Sophie Shaw. Between February 3 and 19, 2023, there was contact between Glynn and the fictitious profile on Facebook and through WhatsApp. The accused was told the ‘girl’ was 14 from the outset but he continued to send sexually explicit messages.
On February 22, 2023, Gardaí were contacted by a member of the UK-based Predator Exposure organisation. She had set up a false Facebook profile for a 13-year-old called Sophie Brown.
On February 2, 2023, Glynn sent the profile a friend request. A 334-page chat log was shown to Gardaí. The log contained 11 images of a male penis as well as sexually explicit messages.
On February 24, 2023, Glynn was arrested at the Ivy Tower Hotel in Castlebar where he was staying at the time. He admitted sending a photo to ‘Sophie Brown’ and said he regretted sending the messages. The accused said she told him she was 13 and he also admitted he believed ‘Sophie Shaw’ to be 14.
Two mobile phones were seized and some of the images sent by Glynn matched the background of the hotel room he was staying in.
Soon after he was arrested, Glynn was in communication with another online decoy.
Another member of the Predator Exposure group created a Facebook profile under the guise of a 13-year-old girl named Lola Jade Robinson. A chat log of messages between the decoy and Glynn from April 23 to 30, 2023, was handed over to Gardaí.
“It’s astounding that after he was questioned he would do the same thing in April,” commented Judge Eoin Garavan.
Between April 21 and May 7, 2023, the accused sent messages again to the Sophie Shaw profile and he was again arrested this time at the Ellison Hotel in Castlebar.
Defending barrister Diarmuid Connolly said his client, who has no previous convictions, is separated from his family and appears to have “gone off the rails in middle age”. He said Glynn has been living in hotels and hostels and having worked previously now seems “somewhat rudderless” and is of limited means.
Mr Connolly said he was making the "unusual" request of having his client remanded in custody before finalising the case. He said the court and the accused would benefit from a probation report and a prison governor’s report.
“It seems that we know nothing at all about Mr Glynn’s background,” agreed Judge Garavan.
The judge remanded the accused in custody to appear before the court again on October 30 next.
