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Pensioner (74) who accessed child sexual abuse images ‘when bored’ avoids jail

The charge relates to 33 images in total, 12 images in category one, which is the most serious category, and the remainder in category two,

Emma Ryan

Today at 09:43

A former Donegal businessman who accessed child sex abuse images while he was bored has been given community service.

Michael Gillespie (74) of Braad, Kincasslagh appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court on Thursday for sentencing.

He previously pleaded guilty to knowingly possessing child pornography images on June 2, 2021, contrary to Section 6.1 of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998.

Detective Garda Donal Callaghan told the court the charge relates to 33 images in total, 12 images in category one, which is the most serious category, and the remainder in category two, less serious images.

The court heard the incident arose when Gardaí were contacted by an internet company about activity at an IP address in Donegal which was found to be Gillespie’s home.

Gardaí obtained a search warrant which was executed and it was established that the material had been accessed by Gillespie.

Detective Callaghan explained that the images were found on Gillespie’s white iPhone and he “put his hands up” and was fully co-operative with Gardaí.

The court heard that Gillespie admitted to downloading an app called Kik, which was renowned for its anonymity as users can use the app without verifying details.

When questioned about the images, Gillespie said he was bored and outlined he was using the app for adult pornography and initially stayed away from child abuse material but ‘it kept coming at him’ on the app.

Barrister for Gillespie, Ms Fiona Crawford, told the court that Gillespie downloaded the app on his phone to relieve boredom and satisfy his curiosity.

She said he was using it for the adult sexual content and felt he had a sense of security due to the anonymity element and he initially did not realise there was images of children on the app too.

Ms Crawford said he initially avoided that content but it kept appearing on the app.

She added he is not a man with anger or hostility and a probation report has placed him at low risk of offending.

Gillespie is a former businessman who ran a printing company and also worked as a painter and decorator.

He has no previous convictions and has not come to the attention of Gardaí since this incident.

A forensic psychologist report detailed that Gillespie was distressed, displayed emotion, was at low risk of reoffending and had expressed his regret.

It was also explained that Gillespie’s victim awareness was limited at first but with consultation, he did become much more aware of the victims of child pornography and the harm caused for the children involved.

Ms Crawford said he maintains the support of his family and is living in a small rural environment, and knows he made a mistake.

She added he was careless, became naïve and crossed a thin line between accessing adult and child pornography.

Passing sentence, Judge John Aylmer said the maximum sentence for such an offence was five years in prison.

He said the nature of some of the images was very serious and described as being in category one, the most serious category but added that the number of such images is low in comparison to other cases the court encounters.

He added these cases are always serious but he believed this offence to be on the lower end of the scale and reduced the sentence to one of 18 month in prison, before mitigation.

Judge Aylmer noted that Gillespie is a retired man, has been a hard worker all his life and never came to Gardaí attention.

He also acknowledged that he was fully cooperative with the Garda investigation, and signed a plea of guilty in the District Court.

Referring to the probation report, he said he is satisfied that they do not see the need for supervision, he had developed victim awareness and was genuinely remorseful.

Judge Aylmer added he has automatically been placed on the Sex Offenders Register and will remain under the supervision of Gardaí.

In those circumstances, Judge Aylmer said he felt it was a case which would be better dealt with by community service, and he sentenced Gillespie to 240 hours of community service in lieu of 12 months in prison, with 12 months to complete.