A former Progressive Democrat councillor received a six-month prison sentence yesterday for possession of child pornography.
Alan Robinson (35) pleaded guilty to the offence but was released on bail pending an appeal against the sentence.
Gardaí found five images of child pornography on Robinson's office computer in Temple Bar where he worked as director of the Dublin Junior Film Festival.
Three of the images were described as "sexually graphic", one of which included an eight-year-old girl performing a sexual act.
Appearing before Dublin District Court yesterday, Robinson, of Joy Street, Ringsend, was also directed to pay a €1,000 fine.
A spokesperson for the PDs said he was no longer a member of the party. It is understood he resigned after he was arrested under Operation Amethyst, the Garda's investigation into child pornography last year.
Robinson was the former chairman of the Young Progressive Democrats and a councillor in the Dublin South East constituency. He took over a Dublin City Council seat from Ms Liz O'Donnell when she resigned in 1994, but lost the position in the 1999 local elections after securing just over 8 per cent of the vote in the Rathmines ward.
He was also an outspoken supporter of the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, at a time when he clashed with the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, over the direction of the party several years ago.
The sentencing of Robinson represents one of the tougher sentences for possession of child pornography under Operation Amethyst.
Celebrity chef Tim Allen was sentenced to 240 hours of community service after agreeing to make a €40,000 donation to a Calcutta child charity.
A Galway electrician who purchased child pornography on the Internet was given a suspended six-month sentence and fined €1,500 recently.
Two men also had their names controversially protected by Judge John Brophy at Navan District Court earlier this year.
The men pleaded guilty and their cases were adjourned so that probation reports could be obtained on the defendants.
A former teacher was jailed for nine months at Balbriggan District Court for possession of child pornography as part of Operation Amethyst.
Almost 100 homes and offices were raided under the operation last year. The hard drives and other material - including details of credit card transactions - were seized by detectives and forensic experts.
The Garda was supplied with the names of suspected paedophiles by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which conducted a three-year investigation into child pornography sites.
