Paedophile caught in multiple online sting operations, Mayo court hears
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A man who sent explicit images and messages to people he believed were teenage girls has been jailed.
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 member of an online group known as the Child Protection Agency. This person had set up a fake Facebook profile for a 14-year-old girl. 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 group. They had set up a false Facebook profile for a 13-year-old girl.
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 one of the decoys and said he regretted sending the messages.
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 released, Glynn was in communication with another online decoy. A different member of the Predator Exposure group created a Facebook profile under the guise of a 13-year-old girl. 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 one of the profiles and was re-arrested, this time at the Ellison Hotel in Castlebar.
Defending barrister Diarmuid Connolly said his client, who has no previous convictions, went through a marriage break-up and appears to have “gone off the rails in middle age”. He had worked in the hospitality industry in the UK for many years. Glynn has been in custody since last July.
When arrested Glynn told gardaí he was caught in another paedophile hunter sting in the UK. He travelled to Devon and claims he was assaulted at a train station by members of an online organisation. He was questioned in a police station but released.
Judge Eoin Garavan said Glynn is a paedophile regardless of whether his ‘victims’ were fictitious. He was told the ‘girls’ were 13 or 14 years old and had taken ‘minimal responsibility’ for his actions.
Imposing a three-year jail term, Judge Garavan backdated the sentence to reflect time already spent in custody. He said Glynn is “clearly a risk when he gets out” and directed him to come under the supervision of the Probation Service upon release.
