Man who admitted paying women to get access to children to be sentenced

A man who admitted paying women money to get access to children for his own “sexual gratification” has been remanded in custody for sentencing next month.

Timmy Duggan (35), of Mountain Lodge, Annagh, Tralee, Co Kerry, pleaded guilty to nine separate charges, contrary to the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, before Tralee Circuit Court sitting in Limerick.

Mr Duggan, a former supermarket manager who also worked in the agricultural industry, and was a well-known badminton player in the county, admitted he “paid money” for “obtaining a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation” from women, including the children’s mothers, on different dates, in different locations.

It is understood he met the women through online dating websites, on social media and a classified ads website, and paid thousands of euro for photos and videos of children, and for using the children for his sexual gratification.

None of the women who profited from making the children available to Mr Duggan can be named, in order to protect the identities of the children. All of the child victims, as well as their siblings, have been taken into the care of the State.

Mr Duggan appeared before the court via video-link, in custody from a prison where he is being held on remand on further similar charges which he has also admitted. He admitted paying the mother of a girl to use the child “for the purpose of sexual exploitation”, at an address in Kerry, on a dates between January 1st, 2019 and September 29th, 2021.

He also pleaded guilty to paying another woman to “obtain” the same girl for the same offence, at the same location, around the same dates, and that, he did, “for sexual purposes, invited, induced, counselled or incited (the girl) to touch him” at the same location, around the same dates.

He further admitted two separate counts, that he “did intentionally engage in sexual activity” with the girl’s mother while the child “was present, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification from the presence of a child”.

Mr Duggan admitted an additional three counts of sexual assault of the girl, contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990, as amended by Section 37 of the Sex Offenders Act, 2001, at the same location, around the same dates.

He also pleaded guilty that he “did communicate with another person by means of information and communication technology for the purpose of facilitating the sexual exploitation” of the girl.

In a further unrelated case, Mr Duggan and a woman are awaiting sentence after they previously pleaded guilty to a total of six charges of “knowingly producing and distributing child pornography”.

The woman has also pleaded guilty that, on dates unknown, between July 19th, 2015 and April 27th, 2016, at an address in Kerry, she did “sexually exploit a child”, who is her son, contrary to Section 3 of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998.

The woman also admitted that, on March 20th, 2016, at an address in Kerry, she did “knowingly produce child pornography in the form of online text conversations in which the sexual assault of children was discussed with another party, for the purposes of distribution, publication exportation, sale or show”.

She pleaded guilty to a further charge of “knowingly producing and distributing child pornography for distribution, publication exportation, sale or show” on dates unknown between July 19th, 2015 and April 27th, 2016, and, to “knowingly distributing” similar material for sharing, selling, or showing, on March 21st, 2016.

In this case, Mr Duggan has previously pleaded guilty that, on April 28th, 2016, at a location in Limerick, he “knowingly” had in his possession “child pornography” on his mobile phone.

He has also admitted that on dates between July 19th, 2015 and April 27th, 2016, at an address in Limerick, he did “encourage or knowingly cause or facilitate any activity set out in the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1988, for the purpose of distribution, publication exportation, sale or show”.

In a third case unrelated to the other two cases mentioned above, Mr Duggan and another woman are awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to charges relating to the sexual exploitation of children in locations in Munster.