A man charged with sending sexually explicit material to a minor and an offence under Coco’s Law appeared in court last month.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Judge John Cheatle at an in-camera (closed to public) sitting of Waterford District Court. He pleaded guilty to charges of sending sexually explicit material to a minor, contrary to Section 8 (2) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, and distributing, publishing or sending threatening or grossly offensive communication to another person, contrary to Section 4 (1) and (3) of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act, 2020, also known as Coco’s Law. The charges related to incidents that occurred in 2024.
Coco’s Law came into force in 2021, and is named after Nicole ‘Coco’ Fox, who died by suicide in 2018 after she had been bullied online.
Acting for the defendant in court last week, solicitor Ken Cunningham outlined that his client has a ‘sensitive background’ and is identified as a ‘vulnerable adult’ due to being neurodivergent.
The solicitor said the conditions his client suffers from mean that he has a ‘functional impairment’ and impulsivity, which is what led him to “make choices without consideration for the consequences” in relation to the offences.
It was noted in court that the accused has no previous convictions, and no victim impact statement was provided.
Mr. Cunningham added that his client wished to apologise for his actions, and that highlighting the accused’s neurodivergence was “not minimising” his actions, but he had never indicated anything but a guilty plea.
The solicitor concluded by telling the court that the accused was living away from his family at the time, and had gotten involved with a particular group, which all eventually “went wrong.”
He has since returned to living at home and is working full-time.
Mr. Cunningham also asked Judge Cheatle to consider whether the offences would be a “defining moment” in the life of the accused, as a conviction for the charges would “depict a person that’s not him”.
Judge Cheatle decided to adjourn the matter for a period of 10 months to February 2027, to give the accused a chance to come to no further Garda attention. The judge also ordered for the accused to attend the Probation Service for supervision and for a Probation report to be completed.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
