Ireland Uncle jailed for 10 years over sexual assault of 12-year-old nephew
A man in his 40s from the midlands was sentenced to 10 years at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court on 23 January 2026 after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting his sleeping 12-year-old nephew while livestreaming a web chat, and to possession and production of child pornography involving a friend's daughter aged 10-12.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced23 Jan
2 reports
Key facts
consolidated from all reports29 statements extracted from the articles
- whatHe was jailed for having sexual abuse images and videos of children, including a nine-month-old baby, on his phone. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThere were a further 45 images and 37 videos on the phone's memory card. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe material showed children mainly aged two to 13 engaged in sexual acts and being abused by adults. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe boy fell asleep on a couch and woke to find the accused rubbing his penis with the palm of his hand under his clothes. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe boy ran to his room and sent a Snapchat message to his mother. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe uncle had befriended another young boy and allowed him to take showers in his workplace. (irishtimes.com)
- whatGardaí found two covert video recordings of a girl aged 10-12 using the toilet and showing her vagina, lasting about 46 seconds. (irishtimes.com)
- whereHe has an address at Forgney, Moyvore, Co Westmeath. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe offence date was 10 February 2023. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationHe was arrested as a passenger in another car during a suspected drugs seizure. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationWhile in Garda custody, he handed over his mobile phone along with the pin to access its contents. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationDet Garda David Mead outlined the boy's account in a specialist interview at an earlier hearing last July. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe was charged with possessing 98 images and 55 videos of downloaded child pornography. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe pleaded guilty to sexual assault, possession and production of child pornography on dates in 2021. (irishtimes.com)
- courtHe pleaded guilty at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court. (irishtimes.com)
- courtJudge Keenan Johnson passed sentence. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe sentencing took place at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceThe judge imposed a two-year sentence, suspending the final 12 months for five years. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceThe sentence was backdated to 8 July when he was remanded in custody. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceHe was sentenced to 10 years at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court. (irishtimes.com)
- otherA probation report found him to be at a moderate risk of reoffending. (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe had no previous convictions. (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe was in a stable relationship at the time of sentencing. (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe was aged 20 to 23 when he had the images and videos. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThere was no evidence of distribution of the material. (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe was never charged with any drug offence. (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe had twice paid for the material, totalling €50. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThere was no allegation that he distributed the pictures or footage. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe judge found the man to be at a high risk of reoffending. (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 23 Jan2026‘Plain evil’: Predator who sexually assaulted nephew sentenced to 10 years
Reports the 10-year sentence, details of the assault (livestreamed web chat, covert filming of a friend's daughter), victim impact statements, and the judge's characterisation of the crimes as 'predatory, systemic, calculated and plain evil.'
convicted, 40s, malevictim, 12, malevictim, 10-12, female - 23 Jan2026Man sentenced to two years over child sex-abuse material on phone
Sentencing report: Fitzpatrick received a two-year custodial sentence with the final 12 months suspended for five years, backdated to 8 July when he was remanded. He was originally arrested as a passenger during a drugs seizure and handed over his phone in custody, revealing 98 images and 55 videos of children aged nine months to 13.
convicted, Josh Fitzpatrick, 26, male, named, irish (judged from name)Josh Fitzpatrick