Ireland Dublin man jailed for online sex offences against fictitious children
Michael Macken, aged 41 and of no fixed abode, was confronted in August 2024 by the Child Online Protection Enforcers, a vigilante group based in Northern Ireland, which located him at his parents' home in Coolock, Dublin, on 20 August 2024. He had been communicating sexually with people he believed were children aged 14 and under, but the children were fictitious and the group used a decoy adult. He pleaded guilty at the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin to nine counts of attempting to solicit a sexual act from a child and six counts of sending sexually explicit material to a child under the Criminal Justice (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. Reports from May 2026 say he was sentenced to eight years in prison with the last six months suspended, although one article's opening gives seven and a half years.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced20 May
2 reports
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Michael Macken, aged 41 and of no fixed abode, admitted using Facebook to contact people he believed were 14 or younger.
- The children Macken contacted were fictitious, and the group used a decoy adult.
- Where
- The vigilante group arrived at the home of Macken's parents in Coolock, where he was living.
- When
- The vigilante group located Macken at his parents' home on 20 August 2024.
- Investigation
- The Child Online Protection Enforcers, a self-appointed group based in Northern Ireland with around 20 people, confronted Macken with evidence of his messages.
- Macken was not the subject of a Garda investigation when the group came to the Dublin address.
- Detective Garda Keith Halford gave evidence of Macken's communication with 6 to 7 individuals believed to be fictitious children; one article names the officer as Garda Keith Alford.
- Charges
- Macken pleaded guilty to nine counts of attempting to solicit a sexual act from a child under Section 8.1 and six counts of sending sexually explicit material to a child under Section 8.2 of the Criminal Justice (Sexual Offences) Act 2017.
- He also pleaded guilty to sample counts including communicating with a person with the intention of facilitating sexual exploitation of a child.
- In court
- The case was heard at the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin, where the judge said the behaviour was serious even though the children were fictitious.
- Sentence
- Reports give the sentence as eight years in prison with the last six months suspended on conditions, while one article's opening gives seven and a half years.
- Other details
- Macken has previous convictions, reported as two for sexually assaulting children aged nine and 11 and as three in total, including two for sexual assault of female children.
- The court heard that Macken was homeless and had extremely low intellectual functioning.
21 statements extracted from the articles
- whatMacken was sentenced to eight years in prison with the last six months suspended on conditions. (rte.ie)
- whatThe accused attempted to solicit sex acts from children he believed to be as young as 13. (gript.ie)
- whereThe case was heard at the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin. (rte.ie)
- whereThe group arrived at the home of Macken's parents in Coolock. (rte.ie)
- whenThe vigilante group arrived at Macken's parents' home in August 2024. (rte.ie)
- investigationMacken was caught in a sting operation by a vigilante group. (rte.ie)
- investigationA UK-based online child protection vigilante group located Macken at his parents' home on 20 August 2024. (gript.ie)
- investigationDetective Garda Keith Halford gave evidence of Macken's communication with 6-7 individuals believed to be fictitious children. (gript.ie)
- chargeMacken pleaded guilty to a number of sample counts including communicating with a person with the intention to facilitate sexual exploitation of a child. (rte.ie)
- chargeHe pleaded guilty to 9 counts of attempting to solicit a sexual act from a child under Section 8.1 of the Criminal Justice Sexual Offences Act 2017. (gript.ie)
- chargeHe pleaded guilty to six counts of sending sexually explicit material to a child under Section 8.2 of the same act. (gript.ie)
- sentenceThe article describes the sentence as seven and a half years in prison. (rte.ie)
- sentenceHe was sentenced to eight years in prison, with the last six months suspended. (gript.ie)
- otherThe group that confronted Macken was called Child Online Protection Enforcers and was based in Northern Ireland. (rte.ie)
- otherMacken admitted using Facebook to contact children he believed were 14 and younger. (rte.ie)
- otherThe children Macken was communicating with were fictitious and the group used a decoy adult. (rte.ie)
- otherMacken has two previous convictions for sexually assaulting children aged nine and 11. (rte.ie)
- otherThe court heard Macken was homeless and had extremely low intellectual functioning. (rte.ie)
- otherWhen the vigilante group came to the Dublin address, Macken was not the subject of a Garda investigation. (gript.ie)
- otherMacken has three previous convictions, including two for sexual assault of female children. (gript.ie)
- otherThe judge said the behaviour was serious even though the children were fictitious. (gript.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 21 May2026Sex offender rumbled by online vigilante group jailed - Gript
Article lede says jailed for seven years, but the body says eight years with the last six months suspended. Article also says the offending was in August 2024, with the vigilante group locating him on 20 August 2024.
convicted, Michael Macken, 41, male, named, irish (judged from name)Michael Macken - 20 May2026Man caught in sting operation by vigilante group jailed
Sentencing report. The article gives the sentence as eight years with the last six months suspended, but its opening line and standfirst say seven and a half years. The sting arrival at the parents' home in Coolock took place in August 2024.
convicted, Michael Macken, 41, male, named, irish (judged from name)Michael Macken