Man caught with thousands of child sex abuse images jailed for 18 months

A former security guard who was caught with thousands of images of children being sexually abused has been jailed for 18 months.

Owen Shannon (53) was found with nearly 3,500 images and videos on various devices in his home of children as young as five being sexually abused by adult men.

Shannon, of Carrick Hill Road, Portmarnock, Dublin, worked as a security guard for a number of years but has principally been a carer for his mother and father for most of his life.

He pleaded guilty last December at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of possessing child pornography at his home on June 23rd, 2016. He has no previous convictions.

When evidence was first heard last December, Judge Melanie Greally said she was conscious of Shannon’s role in respect of his father and asked if arrangements were in place for his father’s care.

She said her intention was to defer sentencing until such time as Shannon’s father was vaccinated against Covid-19.

Gerardine Small BL, defending, told the court that her client’s father had gone into hospital but has since being discharged.

Judge Greally on Wednesday imposed a 2½ year sentence with the final 12 months suspended on conditions including that Shannon engage with the Probation Service for 12 months upon his release. She ordered that he be assessed for a sexual offenders treatment programme and, if deemed suitable, he should engage with the programme “constructively” and complete it.

Admitted

Det Garda Brian Pentony previously told the court that following a tip-off from Russian authorities, gardaí­went to Shannon’s home address. He opened the door and brought gardaí to his bedroom and said he had been accessing child sexual abuse material. He admitted that the material would show girls as young as five being sexually abused by adult men.

Due to delays in the system, the material was only analysed last year. Gardaí­ found a total of 3,437 images and 56 films on two laptops, a computer and a hard drive which were seized.

Much of the material was at the most serious Category 1 level, which takes into account “the level of distress experienced by the children”, Elva Duffy BL, prosecuting, said. Some of the children depicted were as young as three, she said.

Shannon first accessed the material in 2007, but his viewing spiked in 2016, the court heard.

Ms Small said her client lives a “solitary, isolated life”. He has lived in the family home all his life.

The court heard Shannon started caring for his mother, who suffered ill health, from when he was an adolescent. He was very close to her and “devastated” when she died, Ms Small said. He worked for a number of years as a security guard but gave it up to care full-time for his father, who is currently in his 80s.

Counsel handed up a letter from Shannon in which he said he deeply regrets his actions.

“He is ashamed of himself. He will never have a good name again.”

Ms Small said Shannon had gone to one therapy session and found it helpful but did not have the means to pay for further sessions.