A man who was jailed for three years for having thousands of images of child pornography is to be set free after his sentence was cut to two years on appeal.
Bryan O’Byrne (34), Sandymount and Stepaside, was jailed at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in May 2012 after he pleaded guilty to having 3,200 video clips of child pornography.
Based on the time served so far, with remission for good behaviour factored in, his lawyers told the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday he could be released immediately.
The appeal court ordered that his sentence be cut from three years to two and that he be placed under a post-release supervision order for three years.
The court heard gardaí found the material on expensive and sophisticated computer equipment as a result of a search on December 9th, 2008, of O’Byrne’s flat at Newbridge Avenue, Sandymount.
The Garda Paedophile Investigation Unit had received information on computer activity as a result of international co-operation, the court was told.
O’Byrne had been carrying on his activities for quite a number of years, it was stated.
Mitigating factors
He had appealed the severity of his three-year sentence, arguing that the sentencing judge had failed to give sufficient credit for the mitigating factors in the case. These included his guilty plea, early admissions and lack of relevant previous convictions, which would have brought his sentence below three years. It was also argued the images on his computer were not shared and he did not buy the material.
He had had serious medical difficulties, a tragic family background and upbringing and was subject to a serious assault in his 20s, the court was told.
The State opposed his appeal saying the offences were at the very higher end of the scale.
Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell, said at the appeal court that the images were at the very highest level of seriousness involving acts depicting the rape and sexual abuse of children of both sexes carried out by both adults and other children.
The sentencing of possessors of child pornography was “not a well-worn or well-lit path” where experience had built up a significant consensus on appropriate sentences, the judge said. Sentencing involved venturing into a relatively new and murky area where knowledge was still developing.
Ubiquitous technology
While the technology involved was ubiquitous, Mr Justice O'Donnell said, it was little understood. There was also increasing recognition that some offenders themselves may be damaged while others revealed "a chilling lack of awareness that their activities are wrong".
This, however, was not a case where an unhealthy curiosity, coupled with limited understanding of the internet, led someone unwittingly through levels of adult pornography and on to sites with child pornography, he said.
This case deserved an immediate custodial sentence but there were extenuating circumstances, including his early life and serious beatings by his father, measures he had taken to address his addiction to drugs and alcohol and the fact he had been assessed at being at low risk of reoffending as long as he remained sober.
The appeal court considered the sentencing judge had not given sufficient weight to the mitigating factors or sufficient consideration to ensuring that, on release from prison, O’Byrne would have an incentive to continue to attend courses to avoid behaviour which would put him at risk of reoffending.
