Ireland Case No. 3680Communicating with a person with the intention to facilitate sexual exploitation of a child, attempting to send sexually explicit material to a child · Co. Dublin
Michael Macken, 41, remanded after guilty plea over Facebook child exploitation sting
Michael Macken, 41, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sample counts of communicating with a person with the intention to facilitate sexual exploitation of a child and attempting to send sexually explicit material to a child, following a vigilante group's Facebook sting operation in August 2024. Judge Orla Crowe adjourned sentencing to May 14, 2026, and remanded him into continuing custody.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court2 Mar
2 reports - Verdict
- Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports32 statements extracted from the articles
- whatA vigilante group targeting potential online child exploitation brought a convicted sex offender to a Garda station after a sting operation on Facebook. (irishtimes.com)
- whatMichael Macken, 41, was in August 2024 caught having highly sexualised conversations with who he believed were nine different teenage girls. (irishtimes.com)
- whatMacken admitted he had been using Facebook to contact children who he believed were 14 and younger, saying he did it because he was bored. (irishtimes.com)
- whatIn text conversations, Macken asked some of the girls if they would get into bed with him, asked one to undress and touch her breasts, and asked another to send pictures of her in bed in her nightdress. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe asked a girl who told him she was 12 for a photo of her in bed and asked if her breasts would fit in his hand. (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie)
- whatOn WhatsApp, he sent one girl links to adult pornography and asked if she would do what she saw on the website. (irishtimes.com)
- whatMacken was caught having highly sexualised conversations with what he believed were nine different teenage girls in August 2024 (irishmirror.ie)
- whatSome of the group were wearing hi-vis vests and Macken believed they were gardaí (irishmirror.ie)
- whatA public order incident outside the garda station led to two people from the group being charged with public order offences (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMacken admitted he had been using Facebook to contact children who he believed were 14 years old and younger (irishmirror.ie)
- whatOn WhatsApp he texted one girl about inserting objects inside herself and asked if he could ejaculate on her (irishmirror.ie)
- whereMacken had a former address in Stoneybatter, Dublin, and was living at his parents' home in Coolock. (irishtimes.com)
- whereMacken has a former address in Stoneybatter, Dublin (irishmirror.ie)
- whereMacken was living at his parents' home in Coolock at the time of the sting (irishmirror.ie)
- causeMacken said he did it because he was bored (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationGardaí took Macken into custody for his own protection. (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie)
- chargeHe was charged with nine counts of communicating with a person with the intention to facilitate sexual exploitation of a child. (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie)
- chargeHe was also charged with six counts of attempting to send sexually explicit material to a child and pleaded guilty to a single sample count. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe was also charged with six counts of attempting to send sexually explicit material to a child (irishmirror.ie)
- courtHe pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to a number of sample counts. (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie)
- courtMacken did not apply for bail after his arrest for charge on 21 February 2025. (irishtimes.com)
- courtJudge Orla Crowe adjourned sentencing until 14 May 2026 and remanded Macken into continuing custody. (irishtimes.com)
- courtMacken did not apply for bail after his arrest for charge on February 21, 2025 (irishmirror.ie)
- courtJudge Orla Crowe adjourned sentencing until May 14 to hear a full plea of mitigation (irishmirror.ie)
- courtJudge Orla Crowe remanded Macken into continuing custody (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe group was Northern Ireland-based and called themselves Child Online Protection Enforcers NI. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMacken has an extremely low intellectual functioning. (irishtimes.com)
- otherAn incident outside the station led to two people from the group being charged with public order offences. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMacken has two previous convictions for sexual assault, including the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl at an amusement arcade in Trabolgan, Co Cork, in 2006. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe vigilante group is Northern Ireland based and calls itself Child Online Protection Enforcers NI (irishmirror.ie)
- otherMacken has two previous convictions for sexual assault (irishmirror.ie)
- otherOne previous conviction was for the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl at an amusement arcade in Trabolgan, Co. Cork in 2006 (irishmirror.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 3 Mar2026Vigilantes bundled convicted sex offender into car after sting operation
Court hearing where Macken pleaded guilty to sample counts; details of the vigilante group's sting operation and the sexualised conversations read out in court; sentencing adjourned to May 14, 2026.
convicted, Michael Macken, 41, male, named, irish (judged from name)Michael Macken - 2 Mar2026Man targeted by vigilantes had ‘sexualised conversations’ with what he believed were underage girls
Court hearing details including the role of the Northern Ireland vigilante group, the nature of the online conversations, Macken's previous convictions, and the adjournment of sentencing.
convicted, Michael Macken, 41, male, named, irish (judged from name)Michael Macken