Shamed garda jailed for abuse after he groomed a child of 11
A DISGRACED ex-Garda who left the force in shame a number of years ago for having child abuse images is going to prison for three years after sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl.
The 58-year-old, who is not being named to protect the child’s privacy, deliberately groomed the little girl by befriending her east European family who lived in the same building as him.
The abuser claimed he ‘felt sorry for the family’ because of their poverty, and took them on trips to Tramore Beach and to Splashworld.
However, Detective Garda Maureen Neary told Waterford Circuit Court that he bought them clothes, including a child’s bra, and got undressed with the children in a ‘family changing area’ at Splashworld. A search of his flat came up with children’s underwear, a school uniform and a DVD with 11 images of children.
While the shamed garda, who told the family that he was an ex-pilot, pleaded not guilty, his victim testified that on one occasion, when he was in their house, he put his hands down her pants and touched her private parts. She told him to stop and he did, but told her to ‘never tell anyone about it’ or she would ‘get in a lot of trouble’. The child was ‘so frightened’ that she told gardaí he was her babysitter.
He has a previous conviction for possession of child abuse images, dating back a number of years, when he was dismissed from An Garda Síochána.
Detective Neary said the disgraced garda had been spotted watching children in a café in Tramore. Further inquiries focused on the man’s relationship with the east European family. A file was prepared for the Child and Family Agency Tusla, which interviewed the mother of the girl.
Sentencing the man for the sexual assault and having more child abuse images, Judge Eugene O’Kelly said two of the most aggravating facts were the ‘deliberate grooming’ of the child and her family, and the fact that he had previous conviction for having child abuse images.
THE courts’ relatively lax approach to the possession of child sex abuse images has been thrown into stark relief with the jailing of a former garda for three years for the sexual assault of a minor.
Sixteen years ago, the man was fined €800 for possessing child abuse images and although he lost his job in the force, he was spared a custodial sentence.
It’s high time the legal system accepts that the possession of child abuse images is not a victimless crime. Not only does accessing these images create a market for a despicable industry that corrupts innocent children, it also can be the slippery slope to the violation of more children.
Left to his own devices, this man deliberately groomed a young girl and her family and was found to have children’s underwear, school uniforms and graphic images of children in his home.
Had this man been jailed and received appropriate treatment in prison after his original offence, he might have been rehabilitated and, more importantly, a young girl might have been spared the horror of having her childhood destroyed.