Two years for child abuse material

A Croatian national has been jailed for two years after being caught distributing child abuse images using a private chat system with others sharing the same “deviant” interests.

The man, aged in his 40s, who was living at an address in Cavan at the time of his arrest, had user names ‘russellhoratio’ and ‘ulsterhappylad’ when engaging with others using the Skype messaging app.

The offences, dating back to September 2016, were in contravention of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998, and showed pre-teen children engaged with sexual activity, the most serious of which involved adults, Cavan Circuit Court was told.

The offending came to light, and gardaí raided the home of the defendant, following a tip off from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

In total the man, a hospitality worker, uploaded and distributed 72 images.

Sergeant James McGovern took the stand, with evidence guided by prosecutor Frank Martin, instructed by State Solicitor Fiona Baxter.

The NCMEC had traced the content shared to an IP address in Cavan, connected to a device and phone number that matched the defendant’s.

When gardaí raided his home under warrant they seized two phones, an iPad and a laptop, with the offending material discovered on the latter.

Under forensic examination, gardaí found the device contained 193 images and 32 videos deemed illicit in nature. The man subsequently left the jurisdiction, moving back to his home country of Croatia.

Between July 16 and August 9, 2026, gardaí found a log of 375 messages sent using the ‘russellhoratio’ username, which discussed the sharing of material in the context of a “sexual interest in children”.

On another occasion there was a log of 988 messages.

Using the ‘ulsterhappylad’ username, gardaí uncovered 296 messages sent between persons.

The male had no previous convictions at the time, and was said to have been cooperative with gardaí despite the fact that a European arrest warrant had to be issued seeking the defendant’s extradition back to Ireland.

The man appeared before court represented Garnet Orange, instructed by Joseph Smith BL and Damien Rudden Solicitors.

The man was arrested in Croatia in January 2025 and extradited in February of last year. He pleaded guilty to a single count on the indictment back in July, with sentencing then adjourned to facilitate the commissioning of a psychiatric report.

Mr Orange informed the court that since going back to Croatia his client had gotten married.

He explained that at the time the offending took place the man was operating under a heightened level of stress, working while studying and also attempting to maintain a long distance relationship.

It was noted that the psychiatric report provided important “insight” into the man’s offending, and represents a low risk of reoffending.

The maximum sentence available to the courts was 14 years behind bars, with Judge John Aylmer placing the level of offending at the “lower end” of the scale.

It therefore merited a sentence of three years in jail before mitigation, which included the delay in the case being brought forward.

He accepted the early plea of guilty also but the judge said it would be difficult to implement the recommendations of a psychiatric report if the man returns to his native country once released.

The judge asked that the Governor direct the defendant towards suitable prison courses before reducing his sentence to two years, with credit given for time already served, to include the 75 days the man spent in custody in his home country awaiting extradition.

A nolle prosequi was entered in respect of the last remaining count on the indictment, of possession of child abuse material.