Man (70) caught after sexualised conversations online with people he believed were children, court hears
Patrick (Pat) Linehan, previously of Comeragh Park, the Glen, Cork last month pleaded guilty to using technology to interact with children for the purpose of sexual exploitation. He also admitted to arranging to meet a child for the purpose of sexual assault.
Dt Gda Brendan Murray told Cork Circuit Criminal Court that on July 8th, 2023 gardaí were made aware of an incident at Comeragh Park on Cork City's northside.
'On attending this address, they met with the accused, who was in the company of a number of people who purported to be members of an organisation called Child Online Protection Enforcers.
READ MORE
'A member of this group handed gardaí two USB storage devices which, he stated, contained sexualised conversations between the accused and two female children aged 11 and 12 years.'
Det Gda Murray was informed that these girls did not exist. He stated their profiles were generated and controlled by adults posing as children.
He told Judge Helen Boyle that when Mr Linehan was interviewed he admitted he had been in contact with two girls. He said Mr Linehan acknowledged he was aware of the girls' ages.
'In the initial conversations with each of the profiles, Pat Linehan is informed he is communicating with children, and their ages are discussed on a number of occasions throughout the message threads.
'Pat Linehan initially states to both children he is 13 years old, but later, after sending selfie type photos of himself, is challenged and admits he is older, stating he was 62. (He was 68 at the time).'
Dt Gda Murray gave evidence to the effect that Mr Linehan sexualised the conversations very early on in the communications with both profiles and described in graphic detail sexual acts he would like to perform on the young girls.
'He asks if they would perform sexual acts on him, to which they reply, questioning if they're allowed to do that, given their ages, Pat Linehan suggests nobody would know, that it would be a secret. He sent images of his penis to both girls, and he sent videos of a sexual nature to the profile of the 11-year-old.
'The message thread to both girls began on June 19th, 2023 and continued for a number of weeks, concluding on July 8th, 2023.'
Defence counsel Ronan Barnes, BL, indicated his client worked for Cork County Council for over 30 years. He said he had 'an exemplary work record.'
Sentencing will be finalised on July 1st.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Jón Jónsson disappearance: Gardaí interview almost 60 people in Iceland
Gardaí interviewed almost sixty 60 people in Iceland last week as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Jón Jónsson . Formal statements were taken from 46 of those interviewed under the supervision of the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police. Gardaí said last week they believe the answers to Mr Jónsson's disappearance lie in Iceland. This international co-operation is the result of a court order, following a meeting at Europol in May this year. It allowed Icelandic police to provide gardaí with assistance, including translation, during investigations in Iceland. A team of five gardaí, led by Det Supt Alan Brady, liaised with counterparts in Iceland, headed up by Det Chief Insp Eiríkur Valberg of the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police. This work went very well, according to a statement released yesterday by Reykjavik police. Gardaí returned to Ireland from the Icelandic capital on Saturday. They will now review and process the information obtained during their inquiries. READ MORE 'The next step when we get home - we examine everything that we've gotten from here, we keep in contact with Eiríkur and his team, and we see what other investigative opportunities arise from that,' said Det Supt Brady last Monday during press interviews in Reykjavik. 'We then try to progress the investigation from there.' The Icelandic poker player went missing while attending the Dublin Poker Festival in February 2019. He was 41 at the time. Mr Jónsson, a father of four, was last seen on the Swords Road in the north of the city after leaving the Bonnington Hotel on February 9th. He had been in the country for less than 24 hours. Since then, there have been a number of searches in the area, including four new searches in north Dublin in May this year, which also used cadaver dogs. A search of Santry Demesne was carried out in 2024. Mr Jónsson's family appeared on The Late Late Show in March to raise awareness about the investigation. 'A huge part of our mission was to go on to The Late Late Show to apply pressure on the case,' said the missing man's brother, David Karl Wiium, in an interview in Reykjavik last week. 'You always have to do something to keep the case going, to keep the momentum going,' he said. He said he was feeling optimistic and believed the gardaí would not have travelled to Iceland if they didn't think it was important. Gardaí last week appealed to the public in Iceland to come forward with any information that might assist in the investigation. Anyone with information is urged to get in touch with gardaí or to send an email to abending@
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Nikita Hand's lawyers to address Conor McGregor's withdrawal of ‘fresh evidence' in appeal over civil rape case
Lawyers for Nikita Hand are to address the Court of Appeal concerning Conor McGregor's withdrawal of fresh evidence in his appeal against a High Court civil jury finding in her favour. She had alleged he raped her in a Dublin hotel. John Gordon SC, for Ms Hand, told the Court of Appeal on Wednesday he wanted to address the court regarding the withdrawal of an application to adduce fresh evidence from neighbours of Ms Hand over an alleged altercation between Ms Hand and her then partner within hours of Ms Hand's encounter with Mr McGregor on December 9th, 2018. Ms Hand had described the claims in the fresh evidence as lies and said her then partner, Stephen Redmond, had never assaulted her during their relationship. READ MORE On Tuesday, Mr Gordon said the withdrawal of the application amounted to conceding Ms Hand's description and he raised the possibility of seeking a referral to the DPP to consider possible perjury. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, presiding, said they would hear Mr Gordon at the conclusion of the hearing of a linked appeal by Mr McGregor's friend James Lawrence. Submissions in Mr McGregor's appeal had concluded before the Court of Appeal on Tuesday and the court is hearing submissions on Wednesday morning in the appeal by Mr Lawrence, whom the jury found did not assault Ms Hand in Dublin's Beacon Hotel, against a refusal to award him costs against her. Those submissions, by John FitzGerald SC, are expected to conclude by lunchtime. Mr Fitzgerald submitted Mr Lawrence was entitled to his costs on grounds including the normal costs rule, that costs go to the winning party. The jury had found his client had not assaulted Ms Hand, he said. Ms Hand, accompanied by her partner Gary Foy and mother Deborah, is back in court for the appeal. Mr McGregor has appealed a civil jury's finding last November that he assaulted Ms Hand in the Beacon Hotel, Sandyford, Dublin, on December 9th, 2018. Ms Hand was awarded €250,000 damages and got her legal costs against Mr McGregor. The 36-year-old mother of one told the jury Mr McGregor raped her after she and a friend went with him and Mr Lawrence to the hotel. She said she told Mr McGregor she did not want to have sexual intercourse with him, he 'would not take no for an answer', she was wearing a tampon at the time and would not have sex during her period. Mr McGregor denied rape and said he and Ms Hand had 'fully consensual' and 'vigorous' sex. He said he was shocked when later shown photos of bruising on Ms Hand, that he had not caused them and there was no tampon. Ms Hand denied Mr Lawrence's separate claim she had consensual sex with him after Mr McGregor left the hotel, saying she had no memory of having sex with him. When charging the jury, Mr Justice Owens told them, if a person proves they were subject by another person to non-consensual sexual activity, that is the tort or civil wrong of assault. The jury found Mr McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand and that Mr Lawrence (35), of Rafter's Road, Drimnagh, had not assaulted her. Mr McGregor claimed fresh evidence came into his possession after the case which provided a 'plausible' explanation for bruising on Ms Hand's body. That included sworn claims by Samantha O'Reilly, a former neighbour of Ms Hand in Drimnagh, that, from a bedroom in her house, she observed a physical row between Ms Hand and her then partner Stephen Redmond at their home on the night of December 9th/10th, 2018. Ms Hand described the claims by Ms O'Reilly, and claims by Ms O'Reilly's partner Steven Cummins that he heard screaming from Ms Hand's home on the night in question as 'lies' and said Mr Redmond never assaulted her at any time in their relationship. At the outset of Mr McGregor's appeal on Tuesday, his lawyers said they were withdrawing their applications to adduce that evidence. Mr Gordon, for Ms Hand, said he was 'shocked' at the withdrawal application. He said Ms Hand had been 'put through the wringer yet again' and had answered the claims by saying they were 'lies', which he said was now conceded. There might be an issue about referring matters to the DPP for consideration of perjury proceedings, he added. The appeal proceeded with submissions from Remy Farrell SC focused on two key grounds. The first was alleged errors of law in how Mr Gordon and the trial judge approached Mr McGregor's 'no comment' responses, made when interviewed by gardaí after giving them a statement in response to Ms Hand's claim of rape. The trial judge also erred in directing the jury be asked to answer whether or not Mr McGregor 'assaulted' Ms Hand rather than 'sexually assaulted' her, Mr Farrell submitted. Opposing the appeal for Ms Hand, Ray Boland SC argued Mr McGregor had 'put himself out there as trying to be as co-operative with the gardaí as possible' and in that context his no comment responses were relevant. On the second issue, counsel said this was 'assault by rape' attendant on physical assault and it was 'an insult to the intelligence of the jury to suggest they did not know what the case was about'.
Sunday World
an hour ago
- Sunday World
DJ Carey admits falsely claiming he had cancer and deceiving people into treatment payments
The former Kilkenny player (54) pleaded guilty to 10 deception charges when he appeared in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today Former Kilkenny hurler, DJ Carey pictured arriving at Criminal Courts of Justice Dublin this morning. Photo: Collins Courts Hurling star DJ Carey has admitted falsely claiming he had cancer and defrauding people into paying him for treatment. The former Kilkenny player (54) pleaded guilty to 10 deception charges when he appeared in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today. He had been due to stand trial but entered the plea when he was formally arraigned before the court this morning. Judge Patricia Ryan remanded him on continuing bail for a sentence hearing to take place on October 29 Carey pleaded guilty to dishonestly by deception inducing victims to make monetary payment to him after he fraudulently claimed to have cancer and needed finances to obtain treatment. The charges are under Sections 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act. Carey, from a large sporting family, is regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the game's history, winning five All-Ireland senior medals with Kilkenny, including 2003 when he captained the team. He was twice named Hurler of the Year and won nine All Star awards. After retiring from play in 2006, he managed the Kilkenny U21 hurlers and was a selector for the county senior team. More follows… Former Kilkenny hurler, DJ Carey pictured arriving at Criminal Courts of Justice Dublin this morning. Photo: Collins Courts Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 2nd
