JAILED | 

Dublin IT worker caught with over 1000 child porn images ‘doesn’t know’ where it came from

“I’m sick to my stomach but what else do you want me to do. I’ll look into it and see if I can figure it out”

Today at 08:55

An IT worker who has been jailed for three separate offences of possessing child sexual abuse material told gardaí that he didn’t know how the material ended up on his digital devices.

Gardaí first searched the family home of Oisín Cannon (33) at Orlagh Meadows, Knocklyon in 2017, where they found a mobile phone, tablet and laptop containing over 1,000 images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Cannon refused to accept responsibility for any CSAM and took a trial date but gardaí again searched his home in May 2019 and September 2020, when further offending files were found on some of his devices.

At a sitting of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, the court heard that Cannon told gardaí he had “no interest” in child pornography.

Cannon said he had been browsing online one day when 20 or so pop-up windows containing CSAM were displayed to him, but that he had closed them and hadn’t saved any.

He also suggested variously that other members of his household may have had access to the material, or that it could have been caused by viruses, or that some apps used to download illicit material may have been installed remotely by third parties.

“I’m sick to my stomach but what else do you want me to do. I’ll look into it and see if I can figure it out,” Cannon told gardaí.

He denied having at any stage accessed or stored explicit material or having used search terms such as “underage erotic” to trawl the dark web and said if he had been aware of any such material, he would have reported it to gardaí.

Cannon was due to face trial in 2025 but he pleaded guilty earlier this year to possession of child pornography on all three bills.

Judge Martin Nolan handed him a global sentence of three years and nine months, expressing the hope that Cannon might learn from his experience.

Judge Nolan said it was an “open question” as to whether Cannon might reoffend, adding that it was concerning that he had reoffended a number of times.

Judge Nolan said Cannon had a strong work record and came from a very good and decent family.

Detective Sergeant Kevin Drennan told John Berry BL, prosecuting, that the first search of Cannon’s home took place on August 5, 2017, on foot of confidential information given to gardaí.

Cannon’s HP laptop was seized and upon analysis, found to contain 1,011 unique images of CSAM, of which 860 were listed as being Category 1, the more serious sexually explicit material.

The laptop also contained 102 videos with a total running time of over 31 hours.