Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 5920Possession of child abuse material · Co. Dublin · 1 Feb 2022

Former civil servant given fully suspended sentence for possessing child abuse material, Dublin

Niall Colgan, 39, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing child abuse material at his home on 1 February 2022 and was handed a one-year prison sentence, suspended in full on strict conditions. He will be on the sex offenders register for five years.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced7 May
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
16 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatColgan pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography in the form of two indecent videos and two indecent images of children. (irishtimes.com)
  • whereColgan lives in Muckross Park, Perrystown, Dublin 12. (irishtimes.com)
  • whenThe offence was at his home on 1 February 2022. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationGardaí obtained a search warrant after information from the online child exploitation unit. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationDevices including an iPhone were seized during the search. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationThe child abuse material was found after an analysis of the iPhone. (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceJudge Martin Nolan handed Colgan a one-year prison sentence, suspended in full on strict conditions. (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceColgan will be on the sex offenders register for five years. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherThe material was found on one device, Colgan's personal phone. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherThe court heard the material was found among an extensive collection of adult pornography. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherJudge Martin Nolan said possession of child abuse material is a serious matter but that the amount in this case was on the lower side. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherGardaí also found a small amount of cannabis, valued at around €300, which Colgan took responsibility for. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherColgan has no previous convictions and has not come to garda attention since this incident. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherColgan was suspended from his civil service role and has since resigned. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherColgan has been assessed as low risk of reoffending. (irishtimes.com)
  • otherColgan has been attending individual and group counselling. (irishtimes.com)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 7 May2024
    Sentencedirishtimes.com, first report
    Former Department of Justice official guilty of possessing child-abuse material avoids jail

    Court report on sentencing: guilty plea, fully suspended one-year sentence, five years on the sex offenders register. Adds details of the search, the devices seized and the defendant's background and risk assessment.

    convicted, Niall Colgan, 39, male, named, irish (judged from name)Niall Colgan