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A MAN who admitted possession of child pornography including one image depicting a seven year-old girl performing a sexual act has avoided a prison sentence.
Mariusz Karasiewicz, aged 37, who has an address at Templegreen, Newcastle West pleaded guilty to a single charge relating to an offence which occurred more than five years ago.
During a sentencing hearing, Detctive Garda Michael Fitzgerald of the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau said he examined a laptop which was seized during a search of the defendant’s home on October 10, 2016.
He told Lily Buckey BL, prosecuting, he found four explicit images which were “fully deleted” and would “eventually have been over-written. One of the images, he said, was in the “most serious” category; two were in the “middle” category while the fourth was a cartoon image.
The detective said it was not possible to establish when the images were downloaded or deleted but that he did find evidence of Google searches on a single date during December 2015.
During interview, Mr Karasiewicz – married father-of-one – said he didn’t remember downloading the images but added that he was single and drinking heavily around the time.
Barrister Kenny Kerins said his client, who is working full-time, had cooperated with gardai and provided all of his password and log-in details when asked.
He said there was no suggestion his client had shared any images and he asked the court to note the small number of images found.
“It was the lowest level of sophistication,” he submitted
Judge Meghen said the nature of the most serious image was an aggravating factor but he noted Mr Karasiewicz’s cooperation, guilty plea and his previous good record.
He imposed an 18-month prison sentence which was fully suspended.
The defendant’s name was placed on the register of sex offenders for five years.
