'I want to say goodbye to my kids': Judge defers jailing man convicted of possessing child abuse material

Gordon Deegan

A judge has deferred the imprisonment of a Co Clare man convicted of the possession of child abuse images, including ones depicting child rape, until next Wednesday after the man said: “I want to say goodbye to my kids”.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford has deferred the jailing of Adrian Cleary (34) until 10am next Wednesday at Limerick prison following a request from counsel for Cleary, Lorcan Connolly, to defer jailing for a number of days.

In response to Connolly’s request, Judge Comerford remarked: “It is better to face these things.”

However, after Cleary of Bog Gate Demesne, Westport, Co Mayo, and formerly Roxton, Corofin, Co Clare, said he needed time to sort things out at work and “I want to say goodbye to my kids”, Judge Comerford deferred immediate custody and ordered that he surrender himself next Wednesday morning at Limerick prison.

In the case, Judge Comerford has imposed a 24-month prison term on Cleary, suspending the final 10 months of the prison sentence for the possession of child abuse material on February 10th, 2021, at his then home at Roxton, Corofin, contrary to Section 6(1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998

Connolly told Judge Comerford that Cleary and his partner have one child together, while Cleary is a father figure to a child his partner has from a previous relationship.

He said that, arising from the charges before the court, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency (CFA) became involved, and Cleary has agreed not to reside with his partner and the two children.

Judge Comerford said that an aggravating factor in the case was that the videos described in court show real harm being done to children.

Det Garda Cathy Burke said that one abuse video showed an eight-year-old girl being raped while another showed a girl aged four to five years old performing a sex act on a male.

In the case, Det Burke said that 1,113 abuse images recovered from Cleary’s mobile phone showed Category One images, which are abuse image of children under the age of 17 engaged in explicit sexual acts.

She said that in total, there were 2,617 images and videos of child abuse recovered from Cleary’s mobile phone.

Det Garda Burke stated at the interview that Cleary denied viewing the material, and in his sentencing, Judge Comerford did not find that claim credible.

At Garda interview in November 2022, Cleary said: "I don’t know what to say. They were on the phone. They shouldn’t have been on the phone. I am a fucking gob-shite.

“Ever since you took the phone, I have been wishing and praying that I had deleted the phone. It is going to fuck up my life. I had intended on starting a family with my now girlfriend. That is gone tits up."

“I have no interest in underage girls or boys. I have been trying to have a child for the last six months. I was even trying to tell her about it."

When told that gardaí had recovered over 2,000 abuse images, Cleary said: “What can I say - it is a fucking disgrace.”

Det Burke said that en route to the Garda station, Cleary said: ’I was sent that shit’.

Det Burke said that Cleary has 35 previous convictions, including 24 road traffic convictions and has not come to Garda attention since the 2021 offence before the court.

Connolly (instructed by solicitor, Daragh Hassett) said that a psychologist's report carried out on Cleary found that Cleary does not display any specific sexual interest in children and doesn’t present any of the typical features of a sex offender.

Connolly said that the report found that Cleary has a low risk of sexual re-offending.

He said that the case doesn’t bear the usual hallmark of child pornography cases and the accused had not been in chat rooms with others in dark places on the web and he did not make any forensic attempt to hide his identification.

Connolly said that Cleary’s offending took place against the background of depression, alcohol abuse and a breakdown of a previous relationship.

Connolly said that Cleary remains in employment as a panel beater. He said that Cleary describes “the positive aspects of family life as the best thing that ever happened to him”.

He said that his partner of five years was in court to support him and confirmed that Cleary “is a good person and a good father and she has never any concerns with him and he is most helpful and he works night and day”.

Connolly said that Cleary made admissions at Garda interview, made an early guilty plea and has an absence of prior sexual offending.

Judge Comerford refused an application made by Connolly in written legal submissions that his client not be named.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.