Man caught with child sex images on USB key reaffirms guilty plea
The man, who was caught after staff in a Letterkenny hostel found a USB key he left behind in a room, was before Letterkenny Circuit Court
A man who left child sex images on a device he left behind in a Letterkenny hostel has appeared in court.
Robert Browne appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court to affirm his guilty plea after being caught with the images.
The 52-year-old appeared before Judge John Aylmer on Tuesday.
He was caught with the images when he left a USB key behind in a room of a Letterkenny hostel in July 2016.
Browne, with an address at Birkenhead, Merseyside, UK, was staying at the Apple Hostel and staff members found the key while cleaning a room in which Browne stayed on July 27, 2016.
A previous court heard staff opened the key in a bid to establish who it belonged to and the hostel manager subsequently alerted Gardai, who began a probe.
The court heard that there were a total of nine images, five of which were described as ‘anime’ and depicted children in nude poses and engaging in acts of a sexual nature.
There were also four photo images depicting young female children in naked poses.
Browne has been charged with knowingly having in his possession child pornography to wit, five anime images depicting prepubescent children in nude poses and engaging in sex acts, four photographic images depicting naked poses of young teenage females. The offence is contrary to Section 6(1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998.
His barrister, Mr Shane Costelloe, SC, said his client had been prosecuted for related matters in the UK and had received a non custodial sentence.
He added that he would submit the offences including the quantity and nature of the material were on the lower end of the scale and suggested that a probation report on the accused would be suitable.
He requested for the case to be adjourned to the June sitting of the circuit court for sentence.
Judge Aylmer agreed and requested a probation report to include the suitability of the accused for community service although he noted this may not be possible in this case.