Donegal man receives suspended sentence for indecent child image

A fifty-two years old Co. Donegal man was placed on the Sex Offender’s Register for seven years and sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for three years, when he pleaded guilty at Derry Magistrate’s Court today to possessing an indecent image of a child
Stephen Roulston from Cavan, in Ballindrait near Lifford admitted committing the offence on July 2 of last year.
He further pleaded guilty to possessing an indecent image of a child, also on last July 2 and distributing or showing an indecent image of a child last June 26. The defendant additionally pleaded guilty to sending an indecent image of a child by a public electronic communications network on October 22, 2017.
A solicitor for the Public Prosecution Service told District Judge Greg McCourt that on the afternoon of last July 2, as a result of ongoing police investigations, the defendant was arrested on suspicion of committing other offences.
“The defendant’s mobile ‘phone was seized and forensically examined. The police found on it one indecent image of a male child and an extremely pornographic video.
“He admitted that he had distributed the indecent image of the male child on June 26 of last year. When interviewed he admitted possession of both items found on his mobile ‘phone. He said they had been sent to him some time previously, probably several months earlier, as a prank and he agreed he may have shared the indecent image.
Defence barrister Stephen Mooney said the case started with a particular form of investigation which was pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service.
“These are serious offences which normally would go on indictment and the fact that they are being dealt with in this court is an indication of the level of his offending.
“He received the video which had been sent to him through social media. The photograph is vile and for some reason he forwarded it to another person. The image if the child is a mock-up as opposed to a real image. He pleaded guilty at the start when he was arrested and he made admissions during the course of his police interview and he has been on bail without any issues for the last six months.
“During the course of his police interview, just to put his situation in context, he was accompanied by an appropriate adult. The public embarrassment of being in court for these offences has been a chastening experience for him”, Mr. Mooney said.
The District Judge said while each offence carried a maximum sentence of six months, he was not sending the defendant to jail.
“These are extremely serious offences but I take into consideration your previously clear record in this jurisdiction, the fact that you pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and the fact that the author of a pre-sentence report states that you have been assessed as being at a low likelihood of re-offending for offences of this type.
“If there is any re-offending of a similar nature you will immediately go to prison. There is no way you can or should get involved in this type of offending again. Stay away from social media because that can be tempting in terms of getting involved”, Mr. McCourt told Roulston.