Teenager (16) accused of making child sex abuse images at National Aquatic Centre

Tom Tuite

A teenage boy has been charged with making child sexual abuse videos at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, appeared at the Dublin Children’s Court on Wednesday and was granted bail pending a hearing next month to decide his trial venue.

He is accused of two offences under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act.

He is accused of knowingly possessing two videos on his mobile phone at the National Aquatic Centre on a date in 2022 when he was aged 14.

The second charge alleged he produced them for the purpose of distribution, export, publication, sale or show.

Garda James Grogan told Judge Patricia Cronin that the schoolboy was charged in July following directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The court heard the teen “made no reply to the charges after caution”.

He was accompanied to court by his mother, was not required to address the court and has yet to make a plea. The DPP has recommended that the case stay in the Children’s Court.

Defence counsel Doireann McDonagh applied for an adjournment for the garda to provide disclosure of prosecution evidence.

Judge Cronin remanded the boy on bail to appear again in September for a jurisdiction hearing to decide if the case should remain in the Children’s Court or go to the Circuit Court, which has broader sentencing powers.

She said that because he was a juvenile, the case had to be dealt with as efficiently as possible, and the boy should not be before the court longer than necessary.

Facts will be heard at a later stage, and if he pleaded guilty, the case would still have to be put back again to get a pre-sentence probation report.

A later hearing date will be scheduled if he contests the charges.

There was no objection to bail, and the boy left court with his mother.

Parents, guardians, or a responsible adult must attend criminal proceedings with juvenile defendants unless they have been excused for a valid reason.

The Children Act also states, “No report shall be published or included in a broadcast which reveals the name, address or school of any child concerned in the proceedings or includes any particulars likely to lead to the identification of any child concerned in the proceedings.”