Kilkenny man convicted of paying for using a prostitute

A Kilkenny man appeared in court today and pleaded guilty to paying for a prostitute at a premises in the city centre.

Sergeant Morgan O'Connor told the court that on July 6, 2023 there was a garda on duty in Kilkenny city centre. The garda observed a vehicle acting suspiciously and then heard voices in a laneway where a man was speaking into an earpiece and looking for directions to a location. The man was then buzzed into an apartment block and exited the building 35 minutes later. The garda spoke to the man who said that he had paid for 'sexual services' at the property

Solicitor, Ed Hughes said that the garda was present at the location 'because of a wider investigation' and not because his client was present. The defendant has no previous convictions and is a married man, who is the father of three children.

Judge Geraldine Carthy convicted the defendant and imposed a fine of €250.

Following the conviction a garda spokesperson said that gardaí in Kilkenny  are continuously working with their partners in Ruhama and with national units such as the Organised Prostitution Investigation Unit and the Protective Services Bureau to clamp down on this type of offending.

In the last year alone gardaí in Kilkenny have shut down two brothels operating in the city. Larger criminal investigations are ongoing in relation to the operation of these brothels.

Anyone with information relating to such offending should report the matter to Kilkenny gardaí on (056) 7775000 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, where all calls will be handled in the strictest of confidence.

"The primary focus of gardai in these investigations is the safety and well-being of the women women impacted by prostitution, sex trafficking and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation," added the spokesperson.