Greystones Taxi Driver Jailed For Child Pornography Possession

Church Road…

Greystones taxi driver has been jailed for 10 months for possession of child pornography.

Keith Reilly of Upper Grattan Park pleaded guilty to possession of the offending material contrary to Section 6 (1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998.

At Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday, gardaí revealed that they were alerted by the US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to the existence of a video in a Dropbox account in Reilly’s name. A mobile phone was seized during a search of the defendant’s home on July 2nd, 2021, explained Detective Garda Dara McEvoy, but no child sexual abuse imagery was detected on the device.

Det Garda McEvoy explained they were nonetheless “extremely concerned” about the content and tone of a conversation in a WhatsApp exchange between Reilly and another individual about young children.

He also told counsel for the DPP, James Kelly BL, that files in a Dropbox account belonging to the defendant could not be opened but, with the assistance of authorities in the US, two videos containing ‘Category 1’ child sex abuse material were subsequently found.

One video contained a recording of children engaged in sexual activity while the other depicted a naked boy masturbating.

The court heard that the 57-year-old Reilly had no previous convictions, other than some road traffic offences 20 years ago. It was also revealed through cross examination by defence counsel Barry White SC that the accused had complained to gardaí in the past about being sexually abused as a child. Det Garda McEvoy said he understood a file on the complaint had been forwarded to the DPP, who had directed that there should be no prosecution, with Mr White pointing out that Reilly felt a proper Garda investigation into the matter had never occurred.

The barrister suggested that Reilly’s offence seemed to an attempt “to bring the matter into the open”.

Judge John Martin acknowledged that the offence related to a small amount of material when some similar cases involved hundreds of videos, and he also accepted that Reilly had cooperated with gardaí, entering an early guilty plea. There was also no evidence, he pointed out, that the defendant had engaged in the offending behaviour over any prolonged period.

Disagreeing with the view of both the defendant and his wife that it was a victimless crime, Judge Martin stated, “Young people were exploited for the sexual pleasure of others. Innocent children were exploited by someone making money out of them.”

He also stated that Reilly’s claim that he was not motivated by any sexual desire but was calculated to bring himself “into the spotlight” was “a difficult pill to swallow”.

Sentencing Reilly to 14 months in prison, Judge Martin suspended the final four months on condition that he places himself under the supervision of the Probation Service and complies with any directions given to him for a period of 12 months after his release from prison.

A second charge, relating to the possession of the other video, was taken into consideration.