Man (65) engaged in online chat about ‘fantasy’ of raping grandchildren

A grandfather who spoke with a stranger online about a fantasy of raping his two granddaughters, then aged seven and two, has been jailed for a year.

The 65-year-old Dublin man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the children, had a conversation on Skype with a Canadian going by the name of ‘Bill’ about raping the children, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

The conversation was found on the man’s laptop by gardaí who searched his house after they became aware of child abuse material in the home. Two copies of a single child abuse image were also recovered from his laptop.

The man pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly possessing child sex abuse images and one count of knowingly distributing such images on dates in October 2017.

Judge Melanie Greally said the Skype conversation between the two men was extremely graphic and disturbing. She said the uploading of non-pornographic pictures of his own grandchildren had been an extreme breach of trust.

The judge set a headline sentence of three years and took into account the contents of psychological and probation reports before the court. She noted that the accused had a very difficult and unstable early life and his role as a carer for his wife, who is highly dependent on him.

Escapism

She said he appeared to have been engaging in the offending as a form of escapism and had become isolated and overwhelmed by his circumstances. She noted his remorse and willingness to engage in therapeutic supports. He has been assessed as at low risk of reoffending.

Judge Greally imposed concurrent sentences totalling two years and suspended the final year on conditions including a year of probation supervision and engagement in victim focused work.

Garda Simon Halpin told John Berry BL, prosecuting, that on the day in question, the defendant engaged in a Skype conversation with a person named ‘Bill’ in Canada. They discussed their “inclinations” of a paedophilic nature and outlined sexual experiences with children they said they’d had, the court heard

‘Bill’ asked the man if he had any grandchildren and the man replied that he did.

“After that a description is made of the rape of these two girls in a very concerning fashion,” Mr Berry said.

The court heard the man then sent pictures of his granddaughters to ‘Bill’. These images were “innocent pictures a person would have in a frame on their walls”, Mr Berry said.

Category 2

The child abuse image that was found on the man’s laptop was a Category 2 image and depicted sexual activity between an adult man and a boy, the court heard.

The man has no previous convictions and made limited admissions when interviewed by gardaí, the court heard.

Michael O’Higgins SC, defending, said the conversation with ‘Bill’ was “all a fantasy” and that the man had not carried out any of the sexual activities described. He said the man was “reclusive” and had limited insight into his offending, but he was willing to engage in treatment.

“He is not someone who is ever going to come before the court again,” he said, adding that the man was “deeply ashamed” of what he did and there are “serious ongoing consequences” for him.