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A FORMER Irish soldier, who possessed “depraved” sexual images and videos of children, was given suspended jail sentences and earmarked for a community service order.
Cormac Browne (23), of Camas, Newcastle West, County Limerick, admitted possessing sexually explicit images of children, including baby.
Mr Browne, who was almost 21 at the time, admitted recording sexually explicit live video chats with pre-teen girls.
He was caught in possession of the material by Gardaí attached to the Limerick Divisional Protective Services Unit (DPSU), Henry Street Garda Station, when they raided his home on April 9, 2023.
Sentencing judge Simon McAleese commended the DPSU’s “super work” in apprehending Browne and unearthing his “deplorable” and “disgraceful” actions.
Detective Garda Orlaith Ryan told Browne’s sentencing hearing, at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court, that Gardaí received a tip off from the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), in the United States, about a Snapchat account linked to Browne from which an sexually explicit image of a child had been uploaded.
Prosecuting barrister Lily Buckley, instructed by State Solicitor for County Limerick, Brendan Gill, assisted by paralegal Sarah Heavenor, told the court that Snapchat determined the image to be illegal content and shut the account down.
Gardaí searched Browne’s home and seized his electronic devices. A forensic analysis of his mobile phone unearthed four images and two videos of a sexually explicit nature involving children.
The images included two girls, aged three and six, a 14-year-old girl with her breasts exposed, a 14-year old girl and a 12-year old boy engaged in a sex act, and a woman performing a sex act on a baby.
One video involved Browne engaging with a 14-year-old girl in a sexually explicit chat.
A second video showed Browne engaging with two 14-year-old girls in which he urged then to undress and exposed his erect penis to them.
When interviewed by Gardaí, Browne made admissions in respect of the Snapchat account that had drawn the attention of the US authorities.
He claimed he was sent an unsolicited explicit video, which he said shocked him. He told Gardaí he saved the image and later forwarded it to another person.
Judge McAleese said that when Gardaí later confronted Browne with the images and videos on his phone, “his lies were revealed”.
Browne, who was represented in court by barrister Joe McMahon, instructed by Solicitor Sarah Ryan, assisted by Ciara Moran, told Gardaí: “I am disgusted with myself … What I did was shocking and terrible … I don’t know how old they are, but they are not old enough.”
Mr McMahon suggested to the court that Browne be given credit for pleading guilty, being open with Gardaí, and for providing Gardaí with passwords to his electronic devices.
“He served in the army, completing a tour of duty in Lebanon and he voluntarily discharged himself,” added Mr McMahon.
Judge McAleese said the State accepted Browne’s offending could have arisen out of his claim that he had suffered loneliness during the Covid-19 pandemic, and that he had become addicted to adult pornography before being “sucked into a darker place”.
But “he was a serving member of Óglaigh na hÉireann, his duty was to protect and defend, however his misconduct in this matter is additionally disgraceful by virtue of his betrayal of his duty,” said the judge.
“He resigned his membership of the Irish Army as he realised that it was no longer tenable. The loss of his employment was entirely self-inflicted and can be of no relevance in mitigation.”
Judge McAleece described as “trite” and “rejected” a suggestion by Browne that he was suffering from “sexual frustration” at the time.
The judge remarked that, despite the victims being unknown to Browne, “if there wasn’t a market” for paedophilia, then “children wouldn’t be used for this purpose”.
Reasoning for sentencing
Judge McAleese said he appreciated that some people will ask why he was not immediately sending Browne to jail.
Judge McAleese said he had to balance the “depravity” of Browne’s offending with mitigating circumstances. Browne had faced a maximum sentence of up to 14 years in jail, however judge McAleese told the Browne: “I do not see any advantage to the public to having you incarcerated.”
The judge told Browne he had already “damaged” himself and his family by his own actions, and that would likely suffer “public humiliation and shame”.
The judge said he also noted that Garda Ryan had been “exceptionally kind” in her evidence that she accepted that Browne had been going through a difficult time in his life and was in a dark place.
“I want to congratulate the Gardaí for their super work, it is harrowing work, it is a credit to them, it is the State at its best,” said the judge.
Browne pleaded guilty to seven charges including: possessing child pornography; producing child pornography, inviting a child to participate in a pornographic performance; attending a pornographic performance involving a child; and using communications technology to facilitate the sexual exploitation of a child.
The judge imposed concurrent headline sentences of three years on four of the charges. He reduced the terms to 18 months and suspended them in full for three years on conditions.
Browne agreed to not have unsupervised contact with children and to complete a sex offenders treatment programme. The judge ordered Browne be assessed for 240 hours of community service in lieu of a 18 month prison sentence.