Man jailed after incident with 11-year-old boy in Cork city toilet

AN 11-year-old boy using a public toilet in Cork City centre was approached by a 25-year-old man who asked to see his penis — an incident that caused upset for the child and his family — and now the culprit has been jailed for three years.

Judge Helen Boyle imposed a sentence of four and a half years with the last one and a half years suspended at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in the case against Michael Mullen who is now 27 years old and recently of St Vincent’s Hostel, Anglesea Terrace, Cork.

He pleaded guilty a charge that on September 24, 2022 he did sexually exploit a child by inducing him to engage in any sexual, indecent or obscene act.

He also admitted other charges related to the possession and distribution of child pornography.

Detective Garda Craig Peterson said the 11-year-old went to the toilet and the woman minding him remained outside the door. However, when he was at a urinal, Michael Mullan stepped out of a toilet cubicle and commented on the boy’s penis.

Fear

A moment later he told the boy to show him his penis and although there was no violence or threat of violence, the boy was in fear and did show the man his penis before leaving the bathroom.

The accused had come down from Dublin and was homeless in Cork at the time of this offence.

Judge Boyle commented, “You had a difficult childhood. It is rare to come across someone as isolated as you appear to be and without supports.”

While the accused was getting on well in prison, Judge Boyle noted, the judge found that as well as anxiety and depression issues, there was still an element of denial about his motivation for this kind of thing — probably attributable to shame and self-loathing, according a psychological report.

He also admitted possession of child pornography at Summerstown Road, Wilton, when he was living there and a related offence at Sheila’s hostel, both offences in 2020.

Images

Four of the images were of the most serious category, 15 were in the second most serious category, and more than 100 were of suggestive images of children who were fully clothed.

The family of the boy and the boy himself — the subject of the exploitation charge — gave victim impact statements but did not attend court.

“Unsurprisingly, the family were very upset. He was a brave young boy to tell his parents as soon as possible. He drinks little or nothing when he goes to the cinema in case he has to go to the toilet. And his parents now are hyper-vigilant.

“On the day he was embarrassed. He did not understand. He felt much better when he told his parents. He did what he was told to do because he was in fear of the man,” Judge Boyle said.