Teenager (18) posted intimate images of girl (15) on Snapchat, court told
Gordon Deegan
A Clare teenager, just turned 18, posted a collage of intimate images of a 15-year-old girl onto his Snapchat stories in a Coco’s Law prosecution, a court has heard.
In the case before Kilrush District Court on Tuesday, the accused – now aged 20 – appeared in connection with three alleged offences over the posting of the intimate images in November 2022.
Judge Alec Gabbett said the case comes under Coco’s Law, formally known as the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, which criminalises the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.
In the case, the accused is charged with publishing or distributing an intimate image of the female without her consent with the intention to cause her harm contrary to Section 2(1) and (3) of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2001.
As the female teenager was a minor at the time of the alleged offence, the man is also facing two charges under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act.
The man is accused of knowingly having in his possession child pornography, the image of the female aged under 17 which, the charge says, depicts her genitals on November 15th, 2022.
The man – accompanied to court by his mother and a sister – is also charged with producing child pornography for the purpose of distribution, publication, exportation, sale or show contrary to Section 5(1) of the Child Trafficking Act and Pornography Act, 1998.
In court, Garda Nadine Keane said it will be alleged that the accused had in his possession a collage of four intimate images of the female on November 15th, 2022, and posted them to his online Snapchat stories on the same date.
Garda Keane said one of the images depicting the girl’s genitalia was a Category Two image as categorised under the Child Trafficking Act and Pornography Act.
Judge Gabbett said that Category One would be regarded as the most serious followed by Category Two.
Garda Keane said the images were left online for a number of hours before they were taken down by the man who allegedly posted them.
She said the female – who turned 18 earlier this year – made a statement of complaint to gardaí and was interviewed by specialist Garda interviewers.
Garda Keane said the case was investigated by the Clare Division Protective Services Unit based at Crusheen. She said that when charged at Kilrush Garda Station on May 29th, the accused made no reply after caution.
The garda said the Director of Public Prosecutions has directed that the case be heard in the district court on a plea of guilty only.
After hearing an outline of the facts, Judge Gabbett said he was declining district court jurisdiction and the case will now be transferred to the circuit court where more serious penalties apply on conviction.
The judge said he was declining jurisdiction due to the seriousness of the alleged offences, the categorisation of the images and that the case warrants consideration by the circuit court taking into the impact on the alleged injured party.
Judge Gabbett said that if the accused was aged under 18 at the time, he would have kept the case in the district court.
In the district court, penalties for the Coco’s Law offence can be up to one year on prison on conviction and Sgt John Burke said that before the circuit court, a 14-year prison term can apply on conviction.
Judge Gabbett remanded the man on continuing bail to appear at Kilrush District Court to July 15th. The judge imposed reporting restrictions on the identity of the accused and the injured party due to the age of the injured party at the time of the alleged offences.
