Trainee Montessori teacher jailed for abusing girl (4)

A trainee Montessori teacher who sexually assaulted and took pornographic pictures of a four-year-old child in his care has been jailed for five years.

The court heard the child, who had special needs, was afraid to go back to the specialised playschool she attended. She told her mother that Kevin Muldoon (32) had taken photos of her "bum" and "pants".

Gardaí later discovered 46 images of the girl sent from the man’s phone to his email address, including photos of her private parts and of him with his finger in her mouth.

Muldoon, of Rockwinds, Church Road, Killiney, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexual assault and production of child pornography on May 8th, 2014.

He further pleaded guilty to possessing 688 images of child pornographic found on hard drives and computers during a raid on his premises, his family home and the playschool on May 15, 2014. He has no previous convictions.

Ann-Marie Lawlor BL prosecuting told the court the child’s parents did not have an issue with Muldoon being named in the media as long as the victim was not identified through reporting of the case.

Judge Melanie Greally said Muldoon's crime represented a gross breach of trust and said instead of assisting the girl, "who already started out life at a disadvantage", "he compounded her difficulty".

“She has suffered an irreversible loss of innocence at the age of four,” the judge said before she added that the child’s “extreme youth was the single greatest aggravating factor in the case”.

Judge Greally accepted that Muldoon had expressed remorse, had social and educational difficulties and had neither shared nor paid for the pornographic material.

She sentenced Muldoon to five years in prison and ordered that he engage in treatment while in prison.

The judge also imposed five years post-release supervision and said that Muldoon must refrain from taking any position that will bring him into contact with children.

The girl’s parents, in a victim impact statement read out in court, expressed how the man’s “despicable and disgusting behaviour” would impact them as a family for the rest of their lives.

They said their daughter had a fear of unfamiliar males and “as a four-year-old girl she was stripped of her dignity and innocence”.

They said the incidents had been imprinted on her mind and that she struggled socially and had night terrors. They revealed they were grateful she had been able to speak up about the abuse.

Ms Lawlor confirmed to the court that there were no other allegations against the man from other parties.