Man (24) inadvertently posted indecent images of children on Facebook

Man (24) inadvertently posted indecent images of children on Facebook

5 February 2020

A DUNDRUM man who accidentally posted indecent photographs of children on a Facebook page was sentenced to two years’ probation at Downpatrick Crown Court last Friday.

Michael McShane (24), from Belfast Road, was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) for five years and placed on the Sexual Offenders Register after admitting being in possession of 137 images.

The court heard that instead of posting a list of fixtures on a sports club’s Facebook page on October 2, 2017, McShane inadvertently posted a folder containing indecent photographs of children.

His family home was searched several days later when club officials reported the matter to police who later seized an iPhone belonging to McShane.

Following an examination of the phone, it was later discovered that McShane had 55 images classified in Category A, showing the most serious abuse, 47 in Category B and the rest in Category C.

McShane admitted one general charge of possessing an indecent photograph on October 6, 2017, and six charges of making indecent photographs on the same date.

A prosecution barrister clarified for the court that the making charges meant that McShane moved images from his iPhone to other devices after he had downloaded the images.

He said that the photographs were for McShane’s personal use and there was no evidence that he had distributed the photographs to others or had attempted any contact with underage children.

The prosecution barrister added that McShane had told probation officers that he “did not know why he downloaded the images as he had no sexual interest in children”.

A defence barrister outlined to the court at an earlier hearing how McShane had been self-medicating with alcohol at the time of the offences, having become increasingly socially isolated and had turned to looking at pornography when he had a lot of spare time. 

The barrister added that McShane had the photographs because of his “inappropriate curiosity based on his isolation and feelings of inadequacy at the time”.

The court also heard that McShane spent nearly three months in custody from last October when he voluntarily presented himself to police following a technical breach of a court order when he was in the presence of children at his home.

Before sentencing, Judge Philip Gilpin said that he accepted the Crown and Probation Service’s reports that McShane was not viewed as a dangerous offender and presented a low risk for further reoffending.

While he acknowledged “the amount of images fell short of what suggested as a significant amount”, the judge stressed the prosecution’s contention that McShane showed “limited insight” into his offending.

The judge talked about “the dark side’’ of the internet where the most serious of child abuse images could be found and represented “perverted pleasure” which individuals took in viewing “violence and depravity afflicted on young children”.