An exchange student who had more than 12,000 images of hardcore child and adult pornography stored on his laptop computer was given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to leave Ireland immediately.
Kim Yung Hoon (22), from Seoul, South Korea, pleaded guilty at Galway Circuit Criminal Court this week to having child pornography at Knocknacarra, Galway, on September 12th last, contrary to section 6 (1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998.
Kim came to Ireland as an exchange student last summer to learn English. He had downloaded the pornographic images from the internet before leaving South Korea. He arrived in Galway city on August 29th and attended the Galway Cultural School to learn English. He was staying in a house in Salthill.
Det Sgt Sean O'Grady told the court earlier that Kim showed the pornography to a German student who was staying in the same house and shortly afterwards the landlady contacted the cultural school and the gardaí. She was greatly distressed because she had a 12-year-old daughter.
Det Sgt O'Grady said there were 12,412 pornographic images on a computer disc and on the hard drive of the laptop computer. Of these, 9,784 involved child pornography. The images were of very young children and children up to age 16.
The court heard it was not illegal in South Korea to have pornography, but it was illegal to buy or sell such material.
Judge Carroll Moran sentenced Kim to two years suspended for five years, on condition that he take the next available flight to South Korea and not return to Ireland for five years.
Det Sgt O'Grady had told the court that it was unlikely he would reoffend and that he had co-operated with the Garda investigation.