Garda jailed over ‘sick’ abuse stash

Term cut to two years as judge cites ‘hardship’ offender refusing therapy will face behind bars

A GARDA has been jailed for two years for possessing videos and pictures of children as young as ten being sexually abused by men.

The judge in the case trimmed back almost half of a three-and-a-half year headline sentence for Joseph O’Connor after taking into consideration his position as a garda and the support of his family.

This was despite the fact that O’Connor has refused to accept therapy and still denies that he sought out the disturbing material which he himself described as ‘sick’.

Gardaí were investigating an allegation of assault against O’Connor when they went to his home, seized his laptop and found the ‘sick’ material.

O’Connor, who was suspended from the force in 2012, had served as a garda for 25 years before the discovery was made.

He denied knowing anything about the material and still maintains his innocence.

He has since refused to engage in therapy and claimed that a man who came to his house for sex, days before his laptop was seized, had corrupted his computer.

In August 2011, gardaí investigating an allegation of assault made against In denial: Joseph O’Connor O’Connor went to his home. They seized evidence including a laptop. A subsequent analysis of the laptop found videos in the computer’s ‘recycle bin’ depicting boys under the age of ten being subjected to explicit sexual acts.

There were also multiple copies of different images of children sexually exposed or being subjected to sexual acts with other children.

O’Connor, 58, of west Dublin, had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to five counts of possession of child pornography at his home on dates between July 30 and August 2, 2011.

After a trial last November a jury convicted him of four counts. The jury acquitted him of one count which dealt with 56 duplicates of two images found on his laptop.

Detective Superintendent Colm O’Malley told the court, at a hearing last month, that O’Connor had been a garda for 25 years before his suspension from duty in 2012.

Yesterday Judge Elma Sheahan noted the severity of the images and quoted a previous judgment which stated these types of images ‘cannot be created without a child being violated somewhere, often unspeakably’.

She said that O’Connor’s position as a garda meant his offending brought that organisation into disrepute and placed his culpability at a high level. Against that, she said, a term of imprisonment will bring an additional hardship because of this position.

A psychologist report handed into court placed O’Connor at a low risk of reoffending but Judge Sheahan said it was difficult for the court to take this into consideration where there was no acceptance of responsibility and no willingness to engage in therapy.

Diarmaid Collins BL, prosecuting, told the court that O’Connor does not accept the jury verdict and continues to argue that the prosecutions were brought in bad faith.

Judge Sheahan set a headline sentence of three-and-a-half years which she reduced to two years after taking into consideration O’Connor’s position as a garda and the support of his family.

The maximum custodial sentence for the offences is a prison term of five years.

The court heard there had been delays in bringing the case to a conclusion due, in part, to the involvement of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in investigating a complaint of assault made by a man against O’Connor.

This man did not co-operate with this investigation and it was dropped. He has since died.

The defence argued that O’Connor denied knowing anything about the material and maintains his innocence. He had told investigators that a man who came to his house for sex, days before his laptop was seized, had corrupted his computer.

Defence said O’Connor had an unblemished career and was a dedicated garda who had carried out his duties to the best of his ability. Relatives of O’Connor were in court for the hearings and his lawyers had handed a testimonial letter signed by his six siblings to Judge Sheahan.

In sentencing, Judge Sheahan also noted O’Connor’s loss of standing in the community and his placement on the sex offender’s register. Comment – Page 14

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Maximum term is five years