Man who offered 13-year-old boy €50 to have sex found guilty

A 63 year old man who offered a 13 year old boy €50 to have sex with him was found guilty by a jury on Thursday of sexual exploitation.

The accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced by Judge Rory McCabe at the Circuit Criminal Court, sitting in Castlebar, next October.

He was charged under Section 3 of the Child Pornography and Trafficking Act 1998 following a complaint to gardaí by the victim and his mother that he had been propositioned close to a shopping centre in a west of Ireland town on January 13, 2016.

The accused had cash in one hand when he asked the boy for sex, Judge MacCabe and the jury were told over the course of a trial lasting two days.

When the boy said ‘No: the accused asked “are you sure?” before telling the boy he was “a lovely ladeen”.

The boy, who is now 15, said he was “shocked” and “scared” and told his mother after she came home from work what had happened.

Following his arrest the accused told gardaí in the course of interviews he was a daily Massgoer.

The 12 person jury deliberated for two hours before reaching a verdict.