Man caught having sexual chats with kids on social media jailed over child sexual abuse material
Sonya McLean
A man who was having sexual conversations with children over a social media app has been jailed for having images of child sexual abuse material.
Stephen Comiskey (51) of Turnbury Road, Baldoyle, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to having the images, known in law as “child pornography”, on August 23, 2024.
The investigating detective told the court that gardaí were contacted by the UK authorities in August 2024 after it was noted that a user on a social media application had been engaging in a sexually explicit conversation with a 14-year-old boy.
The court heard that in July 2025 a report received in relation to the analysis of Comiskey’s laptop and phones concluded that there were 101 files which would be considered child sexual abuse material.
Gardaí further discovered that Comiskey had been communicating with a number of juveniles who he knew were under 18 years old. Comiskey had sent and received both videos and pictures, but gardaí were not able to confirm the identity of the children depicted.
Comiskey was arrested and interviewed. He accepted that he was conversing with these children and apologised for his behaviour.
He said he had no intention “whatsoever” of meeting up with the children, but acknowledged that children had been abused in order to create the images that were found on his devices. The children ranged in age from 10 to 17 years old.
Comiskey had been attending counselling since November 2024 and is on medication for depression and anxiety.
Comiskey has no previous convictions. He was married at the time but is now separated, his counsel told the court.
He said a psychological report before the court concluded that his client had “a difficult childhood” and had struggled with his sexuality. He was bullied as a child, and his counsel said for “many years he was embarrassed by his sexual interest in men”.
Fiachra Nicholas Treacy BL, defending, said Comiskey was married for 28 years and has three children, but that “marriage is now over”.
Counsel said Comiskey is “deeply ashamed and does have insight” into his offending behaviour. He has moved on to the “second phase of his rehabilitation”. He further asked the court to take into account that the images were not shared or distributed by Comiskey.
Imposing sentence on Monday, Judge Orla Crowe said the court’s view was that the threshold for custody had been exceeded.
She said child sexual abuse material is “an evil” and “an appalling abuse of the innocence of children”.
The judge noted that Comiskey is charged with possession of the material, not producing it.
Judge Crowe said this offence “self-evidently carries with it a particular stigma in society because of the nature of offending” which violates society’s sense of the protection of children.
The judge noted that the court has dealt with cases where there have been higher amounts of CSAM, but this case is exacerbated by communication with minors.
Having considered Comiskey’s circumstances and his efforts to rehabilitate, the judge noted that he states in his letter of apology that he is “ready to pay his victims and society for his crimes”.
Judge Crowe handed Comiskey a sentence of two years and four months.
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.
