A three-year jail term has been imposed on a man who befriended a teenage girl on Snapchat and sexually exploited her, giving her money and alcohol in exchange for sexual favours.
David Slattery (50), of Priory Square, Celbridge, Co Kildare, twice took the then 16-year-old girl to a hotel, bought her food and alcohol, once gave her cocaine, and engaged in sexual activity with her several times, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.
When gardaí searched his home they found on his device two child sexual exploitation images and two videos that had been sent to him by another teenage girl, the court heard.
Slattery, a married father of two, pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining a child for sexual exploitation and one count of possessing child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on dates in 2023. The pleas were entered on the basis that Slattery believed both girls were 17 years old at the time, defence counsel said.
Doctors initiate legal action over State’s transgender policy
How U2 drummer Larry Mullen jnr avoids conflict with neighbours: buy up all surrounding houses
‘I caught my husband masturbating with a male friend but he says it’s nothing’
Rory McIlroy’s spine-tingling third round puts him in control of his Masters destiny
He has three previous convictions for minor road traffic offences.
The child who sent Slattery the imagery when she was about 13 was tracked down by gardaí but did not want anything to do with a criminal investigation, the court heard.
Imposing a three-year sentence on Slattery on Wednesday, Judge Martin Nolan said his behaviour was serious and that he “must suffer a prison term for what he did”.
Garda Cillian Duffy told the court Slattery’s child exploitation offending came to light when he was pulled over by a garda in relation to a road-tax issue for his Mercedes in August 2023. The girl who he had engaged in sexual activity with was a passenger.
When the garda queried the relationship between them, Slattery claimed the girl was his daughter’s friend and he was dropping her home.
However, he was unable to provide an address, and the girl was unable to provide a name for Slattery’s so-called daughter.
At the station, the girl said Slattery had befriended her on Snapchat that summer. She said she was 16 years old but told him she was 17. He gave her money in return for “sexual stuff”, she said.
The girl was later interviewed by specialist gardaí over three occasions where she outlined how Slattery bought her fast food, alcohol, a vape and mobile credit, and had brought her to a hotel twice. At one hotel, he rubbed cocaine into her gums and tried to have sex with her, eventually having anal sex with her.
On the second occasion in a hotel, he left her two €50 notes on a desk after engaging in further sexual activity with her.
In her victim impact statement, the now 17-year-old said her family had treated her differently after the crime came to light and made her feel like it was her fault.
She said she has been robbed of her sense of trust and left with scars that will live with her forever.
“I was a victim and a child just looking for a friend,” she said. “That friend just wanted to use me, but as a child, I didn’t see it like that.”
She said counselling has helped her realise that what Slattery did was wrong and that she should not feel bad for him.
In relation to the child sexual abuse material seized during a search of Slattery’s house, the court heard the two images and two videos contained explicit material of a 13-year-old child. Slattery believed she was 17, the court heard.
Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending, said Slattery was extremely remorseful for his actions and had written letters of apology. Slattery had written in a letter that he was “a man with no moral compass” at the time of the offending.
The court heard Slattery had a cocaine addiction at the time. Defence counsel said he has since rehabilitated himself and helped others in their recovery from drug addiction.
He has a good work history working for a family business, among other businesses, the court heard.
