Man charged with travelling to Donegal for sexual exploitation of child

A man who allegedly used Snapchat and WhatsApp to communicate with a child for sexual purposes in Co Donegal has been served with a further charge.

The man, who is in his 20s, has been in custody since being arrested in the Letterkenny area in July.

He was arrested and charged that he did by means of information and communication technology, namely Snapchat and WhatsApp, communicate with another person for the purpose of facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 17.

The charge is contrary to Section 8 (1) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017.

The man has now appeared again at Letterkenny District Court where another related charge from the same incident was made against him.

He is charged that on July 15 last at Paddy Harte Road, Letterkenny, he did intentionally travel with the intention of meeting a child under the age of 17 years, having communicated by any means, specifically using an ICT device, with the child on at least one previous occasion, for the purpose of doing anything that would constitute sexual exploitation of the child.

This charge is Contrary to Section 7 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017.

Garda Gillian Page gave evidence of charging the man saying he made no reply when charged.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is being held at Castlerea Prison.

A previous court was told he was arrested in the Letterkenny area in July and was found in possession of five condoms, while “other sexual paraphernalia” was found in a property.

It follows allegations against the accused man, which were widely shared on social media.

The man was charged by detectives in Donegal at 4.07pm on Wednesday, July 16.

Sergeant Collins said that detectives had obtained copies of conversations between the accused man and what was described as “a fictional child”, who he believed was 13 years of age on Snapchat and WhatsApp.

The man, with an address in the Dublin area, had booked an apartment in Letterkenny for a number of days.

Gardaí also seized other items and documents from the man’s vehicle.

Sergeant Collins previously told the court that there were concerns that the defendant would attempt to flee the jurisdiction if he received bail and would not make himself available to be dealt with by the law.

He said there were concerns that, if released on bail, the man could commit further offences of a similar nature.

The man has no previous convictions and has never been before the court on other matters.

The man’s solicitor, Rory O’Brien, told the court that his client has a first-class honours degree from an Irish university.

Until recently, the man was in active employment, but is now unemployed.

Judge Éiteáin Cunningham previously refused bail in the case.

The man's solicitor said at his client's latest court appearance that he would not be seeking bail.

Mr O'Brien also asked for disclosure so he could "consider the full gambit" of the charges.

The case was adjourned until October 13th for the service of a book of evidence and the court also certified for legal counsel.

Mr O'Brien added that although a publication order had been imposed, some material still existed online about his client.

He added that gardaí had contacted Meta and some material had been removed but other material remained online which may have been shared by others.

Judge Ciaran Liddy asked gardaí if they could "do their best" to seek to address this.