Latest news with #sexualexploitation
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Man (70) caught after sexualised conversations online with people he believed were children, court hears
A 70-year-old man was caught in a sting operation after he had sexualised conversations with parties he believed were 11 and 12-year-old girls, a court has heard. 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.
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Pensioner caught having sexualised conversations with young girls caught by sting
A 70-year-old man was caught in a sting operation after he had sexualised conversations with parties he believed were 11 to 12-year-old girls, a court has heard. 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 arranging to meet a child for the purpose of sexual assault. Advertisement Dt Garda Brendan Murray told Cork Circuit Criminal Court that on July 8th, 2023, gardaí were made aware of an incident at Comeragh Park on the northside of Cork city. '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. '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.' Dt Garda Murray was informed that these girls did not exist. He stated that instead, their profiles were generated by and controlled by adults posing as children. Advertisement Dt Garda Murray told Judge Helen Boyle that when Mr Linehan was interviewed, he admitted he had been in contact with two girls. He said that Mr Linehan acknowledged that he was aware that girls were 11 and 12 years of age. 'He (Linehan) later stated he thought the 12-year-old was 15 or 16, as (he said) she sounded older from the texts. 'He acknowledged he had sent her images and videos, but stated they were not obscene. He also stated that she had asked to meet with him a few times, but he had never met up with her.' Dt Garda Murray said that Mr Linehan described the communications with what he thought to be an 11-year-old girl as 'harmless fun.' Advertisement The court heard that gardaí analysed profiles of Facebook and WhatsApp messages between Mr Linehan and the decoy profiles of 11 and 12-year-old females. Dt Garda Murray said that the profile pictures on Facebook and WhatsApp were of young female children who could not be mistaken to be adults. '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." Advertisement He was 68 at the time. Dt Garda Murray gave evidence to the effect that Mr Linehan sexualised the conversations very early in the communications with both profiles and described in graphic detail sexual acts he would like to perform on the young girl. '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 girl. The message thread to both girls began on June 19th, 2023, and continued for a number of weeks, concluding on July 8th, 2023.' Advertisement Defence counsel Ronan Barnes, BL, indicated that his client worked for Cork County Council for over thirty years. He added that he had 'an exemplary work record.' Sentencing will be finalised on July 1st. Mr Linehan remains in custody pending the court hearing next week. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at or visit Rape Crisis Help .
CNN
3 days ago
- CNN
Baseball player Wander Franco found guilty in sexual abuse case, imposed two-year suspended sentence
A court in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, found baseball player Wander Franco — of the Tampa Bay Rays — guilty of abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor and imposed a two-year prison sentence, though the sanction was suspended with the restriction that he not approach minors. 'As a condition, for the moment, we will only indicate to Wander, as the regulation states, when the penalty is suspended, conditions must be imposed: that he not approach minors for sexual purposes,' said Judge Jakaira Veras García, of the Collegiate Court of the Judicial District of Puerto Plata, alongside her colleagues Venecia Rojas and José Juan Jiménez, during the sentencing hearing. According to the reasoning of the sentence as read by Judge Veras García, Franco was subject to blackmail and coercion by the minor's mother to obtain money from the baseball player. Franco's defense requested acquittal from the charges from the beginning of the trial. In addition, the minor's mother was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime of sexual exploitation of minors. Both Franco and the minor's mother were fined the equivalent of approximately US $3,650 and US $11,050, respectively. Both had separately denied the charges against them. Related the mother's sentence, according to the prosecutor's indictment, she was also accused of sexual exploitation of the minor, money laundering and enrichment through acts of illicit origin, receiving a more severe sentence. Upon leaving the trial, Franco's lawyer said they would wait to read the written judgment and would appeal the ruling, without giving more details. After hearing the sentence, the baseball player burst into tears inside the courtroom and declined to comment to the press. Luis Martinez, Dominican General Attorney's officer, refused to comment in regard to Franco's sentence. CNN is seeking comment from the prosecutor's office regarding the sentence imposed on Franco, since they had sought a five-year prison sentence. Major League Baseball told CNN it is aware of Franco's verdict and will complete its investigation at an 'appropriate time,' without providing further details. 'Major League Baseball is proud to have a collectively bargained Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy that reflects our commitment to these issues,' the league added. Franco has not played with the team since the accusations came to light. At that time, MLB placed him on administrative leave, while the team declined to make public statements. The case has garnered national and international attention since August 2023, when Dominican media revealed that Franco was being investigated for allegedly having a relationship with a minor.
CNN
3 days ago
- CNN
Baseball player Wander Franco found guilty in sexual abuse case, imposed two-year suspended sentence
A court in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, found baseball player Wander Franco — of the Tampa Bay Rays — guilty of abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor and imposed a two-year prison sentence, though the sanction was suspended with the restriction that he not approach minors. 'As a condition, for the moment, we will only indicate to Wander, as the regulation states, when the penalty is suspended, conditions must be imposed: that he not approach minors for sexual purposes,' said Judge Jakaira Veras García, of the Collegiate Court of the Judicial District of Puerto Plata, alongside her colleagues Venecia Rojas and José Juan Jiménez, during the sentencing hearing. According to the reasoning of the sentence as read by Judge Veras García, Franco was subject to blackmail and coercion by the minor's mother to obtain money from the baseball player. Franco's defense requested acquittal from the charges from the beginning of the trial. In addition, the minor's mother was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime of sexual exploitation of minors. Both Franco and the minor's mother were fined the equivalent of approximately US $3,650 and US $11,050, respectively. Both had separately denied the charges against them. Related the mother's sentence, according to the prosecutor's indictment, she was also accused of sexual exploitation of the minor, money laundering and enrichment through acts of illicit origin, receiving a more severe sentence. Upon leaving the trial, Franco's lawyer said they would wait to read the written judgment and would appeal the ruling, without giving more details. After hearing the sentence, the baseball player burst into tears inside the courtroom and declined to comment to the press. Luis Martinez, Dominican General Attorney's officer, refused to comment in regard to Franco's sentence. CNN is seeking comment from the prosecutor's office regarding the sentence imposed on Franco, since they had sought a five-year prison sentence. Major League Baseball told CNN it is aware of Franco's verdict and will complete its investigation at an 'appropriate time,' without providing further details. 'Major League Baseball is proud to have a collectively bargained Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy that reflects our commitment to these issues,' the league added. Franco has not played with the team since the accusations came to light. At that time, MLB placed him on administrative leave, while the team declined to make public statements. The case has garnered national and international attention since August 2023, when Dominican media revealed that Franco was being investigated for allegedly having a relationship with a minor.
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
RCMP arrest 12 in Stony Plain human trafficking operation
An RCMP patch is seen on the shoulder of an assistant commissioner, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday, April 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck Police say they have arrested a dozen people following a human trafficking operation in the Stony Plain area. The 12 arrested were charged with obtaining sexual services for consideration, Parkland RCMP said in a statement on Thursday. Because the charges have yet to be sworn in court, names of those arrested cannot be shared. They have been released with court dates pending in Stony Plain. 'Human trafficking is a heinous crime that predominantly impacts young women and girls who are compelled or forced to engage in for-profit sex acts,' said Insp. Kevin McGillivray. 'The arrests made during this operation highlight the fact there are those who would seek to exploit and benefit from trafficked individuals.'
