Child sex abuser Horan is banned from jail computer course
A NOTORIOUS paedophile who coerced young girls to send him sexually graphic images of themselves has been ordered not to take part in a computer programming course in prison.
Matthew Horan, 26, was sentenced last January to seven-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to a series of charges, including sexually exploiting children and distributing images of child abuse.
Judge Martin Nolan, who described Horan as having an insidious and debased sexual interest in children, had asked at the time for a probation report into what services the prison service could provide to reform Horan.
Barrister Lorcan Staines, prosecuting, told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday that the probation report had said the Building Better Lives course for sex offenders would be available to Horan.
However, the court was told that the probation report had also recommended that Horan not be allowed take part in computer programming courses. Judge Nolan agreed with this recommendation.
He also ordered that Horan enter a bond to be of good behaviour for two years from the date of his release, undergo two years’ post-release supervision and avail of all services available to him.
During the sentence hearing last January, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Horan had used Skype, Snapchat, Instagram and Kik, an anonymous instantmessaging application, to send and receive child abuse images from six identified child users in Ireland and nine unknown users.
A forensic examination of Horan’s computer uncovered recorded Skype calls between him and two nineyear-old-girls, both individually and together. The recordings included footage of these girls engaging in graphic sexual acts.
Horan also took part in sexually explicit text conversations with the girls, during which there would be an exchange of photos. Horan would use Kik to share child porn images and videos with unidentified users from around the world, most of whom claimed to be young teens.
He threatened to share an 11-year-old girl’s nude images to her social media if she didn’t send him more graphic photos.
In the text exchange between them, this child repeatedly told Horan that she would kill herself. He then continued to coerce her to send more images, the court heard.
Horan, of St John’s Crescent, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to a count each of sexually exploiting two girls within the State on dates between April 1 and November 23, 2014.
He pleaded guilty to two more counts of sexually exploiting a child and one count of distributing child porn on dates in 2015. He further pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography at his address on July 11, 2015. He pleaded guilty to three further counts of sexually exploiting female children through Snapchat and Instagram in the State on dates between May 21, 2015 and July 7, 2016.
He also pleaded guilty to possessing child porn on a mobile phone at his home on July 7, 2016. He has no previous convictions.
In sentencing Horan last January, Judge Nolan said Horan’s crimes were all committed for his pleasure and he had exploited children in a horrible way.
‘He knew what he was doing was wrong. He understood the damage and yet he didn’t stop what he was doing,’ he said.
He coerced her to send images
‘He knew what he was doing’
Judge Nolan had backdated the sentence to June last year, when Horan went into custody.
He had ordered a report from The Probation Service in relation to interventions available to Horan.
‘If there are such interventions, he has to partake of those meaningfully. It is important for society and him that he is given certain interventions that will change him,’ he said.