Sunday 1 November 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. 21715Possession of child sexual abuse material (images and videos) · Co. Dublin · 4 Aug 2017

Man found with thousands of child abuse images receives suspended sentence

Paul O'Carroll, 45, of Knocklyon, Dublin, pleaded guilty to possessing 3,910 images and 376 movie files of child sexual abuse found at his home in 2017 and was given a fully suspended three-year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced29 Mar
    2 reports
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
26 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatO'Carroll pleaded guilty to possessing 3,910 images and 376 movie files of child pornography (rte.ie)
  • whatThe files comprised images of abuse of children aged between three and 15 years old (rte.ie)
  • whatHe was found in possession of 3,910 images and 376 movie files of child sexual abuse (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe files comprised images of children aged between three and 15 years old (irishtimes.com)
  • whereThe images were found at his home on Delaford Avenue, Knocklyon, Dublin (rte.ie)
  • whereThe material was found at his home on Delaford Avenue, Knocklyon, Dublin 16 (irishtimes.com)
  • whenThe images were found on 4 August 2017 (rte.ie)
  • whenThe search of his home took place on 4 August 2017 (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationThe issue came to light when gardaí were contacted by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the US (rte.ie)
  • investigationThe American agency had concerns about a Facebook account with links to child abuse material (rte.ie)
  • investigationGardaí traced the IP address attached to the Facebook account to O'Carroll's address and sought a warrant to search his house (rte.ie)
  • investigationDue to pandemic and technical delays, the files were not analysed until March 2020, three years later (rte.ie)
  • investigationGardaí were contacted by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the US about a Facebook account with links to child abuse material (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationThe files were not analysed until March 2020 due to pandemic and technical delays (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceJudge Martin Nolan sentenced O'Carroll to three years but suspended it in full (rte.ie)
  • otherJudge Nolan said O'Carroll was unlikely to reoffend and had good insight into his wrongdoing (rte.ie)
  • otherO'Carroll was cooperative when gardaí arrived and handed over a considerable amount of electronic devices (rte.ie)
  • otherO'Carroll has no previous convictions (rte.ie)
  • otherO'Carroll handed over his email addresses and passwords, which was very helpful to the investigation (rte.ie)
  • otherO'Carroll said he had turned to child pornography to find solace and gratification, always followed by a sense of self-loathing (rte.ie)
  • otherMany of the images had been downloaded in bulk and images of children younger than ten had been inadvertently downloaded (rte.ie)
  • otherO'Carroll's attraction was to children between the ages of ten and 15 (rte.ie)
  • otherO'Carroll had never come to garda attention before or since these offences (rte.ie)
  • otherO'Carroll told gardaí he was remorseful and wanted to get help and rebuild his life (rte.ie)
  • otherA forensic psychologist's report described O'Carroll as a psychologically vulnerable man with longstanding untreated mental health issues including depression and anxiety (rte.ie)
  • otherThe psychological report said O'Carroll experienced sadness, apathy, hopelessness and a bleak world view on a regular basis (rte.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 29 Mar2023
    Sentencedirishtimes.com, first report
    Man found with thousands of images of child sexual abuse receives suspended sentence

    Sentencing report: O'Carroll received a three-year sentence suspended in full after pleading guilty to possession of nearly 4,300 child sexual abuse images and videos traced to his home via a Facebook account flagged by a US agency.

    convicted, Paul O'Carroll, 45, male, named, irish (judged from name)Paul O'Carroll
  2. 29 Mar2023
    Sentencedrte.ie, follow-up
    Man caught with child pornography avoids jail term

    Detailed account of the sentencing hearing including the origin of the investigation (NCMEC in the US flagging a Facebook account), the three-year delay in file analysis due to the pandemic, the forensic psychologist's report, and Judge Nolan's reasoning for the fully suspended sentence.

    convicted, Paul O'Carroll, 45, male, named, irish (judged from name)Paul O'Carroll