Man (20s) appears in court charged with trying to communicate with child (13) for sexual purposes

Stephen Maguire

A man has appeared in court charged with trying to communicate with a child for sexual purposes in Co Donegal.

The accused man, who is in his 20s, was brought before Letterkenny District Court by detectives.

Judge Eiteain Cunningham heard how the man used both Snapchat and Whatsapp to communicate with whom he thought was a 13-year-old child.

The accused man, who is a professional and in his 20s, cannot be named for legal reasons.

When arrested, the man was found in possession of five condoms while “other sexual paraphernalia” was found in a property.

Messages found on the man's phone allegedly claim how he asked the 'girl' if she was a virgin and if they could have sex in an apartment he had rented.

It follows allegations against the accused man, which were widely shared on social media.

The man was charged by detectives in Donegal at 4.07pm on Wednesday, July 16th.

The man was charged that, between July 10th 2025 and July 15th 2025, both dates inclusive, within the State, did by means of information and communication technology, namely Snapchat and WhatsApp, communicate with another person for the purpose of facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 17.

The charge is contrary to section 8 (1) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017.

Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that An Garda Síochána were objecting to bail.

He said there was “quite a lot of strong evidence” in the matter.

Sergeant Collins said that detectives had obtained copies of conversations between the accused man and what was described as “a fictional child”, who he believed was 13 years of age on Snapchat and WhatsApp.

The man, with an address in the Dublin area, had booked an apartment in Letterkenny for a number of days.

Gardaí also seized other items and documents from the man’s vehicle.

Sergeant Collins told the court that there were concerns that the defendant would attempt to flee the jurisdiction and not make himself available to be dealt with by the law.

He said there were concerns that, if released on bail, the man could commit further offences of a similar nature.

The man has no previous convictions and has never been before the court on other matters.

The man’s solicitor, Mr Rory O'Brien, told the court that his client has a first class honours degree from an Irish university.

Until recently, the man was in active employment, but is now unemployed.

The court heard that the accused man would have “no difficulty” in handing his passport to the authorities.

Mr O'Brien told Judge Cunningham that bail could be considered with conditions attached.

Sergeant Collins said that evidence has been put to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the form of information obtained from the accused’s phone and said that “this is very strong evidence of his communication with what he thought to be a 13-year-old female”.

Judge Cunningham said that she had carefully listened to the evidence and submissions.

She said that the accused has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

However, Judge Cunningham found the prosecution to have established a likelihood of the accused trying to evade justice.

The man was remanded in custody to appear before a future sitting of Letterkenny District Court.

Under new law introduced in 2024, persons charged with such offences are entitled to anonymity until they are convicted or the restriction is otherwise lifted by a Court.

Judge Cunningham directed that a publication order should remain at this time.