A 27-year-old Cork man paid girls as young as 14 to pose for child abuse videos and images which they sent to him from the UK via Snapchat while he also got similar material from a 12-year-old girl without paying her.
Adam Palmer, of Ballyhooleen, Ballinhassig, faces sentencing at Cork Circuit Criminal Court next year after he pleaded guilty to possession of child abuse images and using computer information technology for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Det Garda Fintan Sleator, of the West Cork Protective Services Unit, said the offences came to light when a woman living in the UK became aware in January 2020 that her 14-year-old daughter had received payments via Paypal in exchange for sexually explicit pictures of herself.
The girl’s mother alerted British police who opened an investigation and traced the Paypal account to Palmer. “Police linked up with gardaí and an investigation was then launched,” said Det Garda Sleator, adding Palmer made certain admissions when gardai searched his house under warrant.
Category 1
It was established that Palmer had obtained a total 93 images and 90 videos sent to him by the girls via Snapchat. Of this material, 23 of the images and 80 of the videos were Category 1 images – the most serious category – depicting children engaging in sexual acts.
Searches of Palmer’s computer, which was seized during the search, uncovered a file entitled for ‘My Eyes Only’ which detailed how pictures could be encrypted on a phone and retrieved only with a user password, said Det Garda Sleator.
The investigation unearthed seven possible victims, all based in the UK, and two of the girls were interviewed by British police, including a 15-year-old who stated that she had told Palmer she was 15 and he offered her money through Paypal to send him on sexually explicit images and videos.
The girl said Palmer complimented her on her appearance and arranged to meet her in a London hotel room and although he did not turn up, he persuaded the girl to send him eight images and 31 videos for which he paid her more than £1,000.
“Juvenile C was 16. Adam Palmer asked her to confirm she was 16. He asked her for images of herself masturbating ... She said he would be like a director...’He would dictate everything I would do in the video’. She sent him eight images and five videos. He paid her £245,” said Det Garda Sleator.
The youngest of Palmer’s victims was just 12 and although there was no evidence of Palmer ever paying her money, she sent him 16 images and three videos of sexually explicit material featuring herself, said Det Garda Sleator.
Series of payments
He said that Palmer made a series of payments via Paypal to the girls, who were aged 14 to 16, of sums of between £10 and £150 which totalled £2,779.
Palmer said at interview that he believed that if matters were consensual and confined to online activity it would not be an offence. He also denied knowing the girls were as young as they were. However, his lack of knowledge in this regard was not accepted by the prosecution in light of interviews with the girls.
Defence senior counsel Jane Hyland SC said her client’s signed pleas of guilty had spared his victim the trauma of having to give evidence and that Palmer had been assessed by psychotherapist Dr Nicholas Banks who had recommended he embark on a 20-session course of psychotherapy.
“He is extremely remorseful in relation to his conduct. He has done extensive work with the probation service on understanding the nature of his offending. He presents as a sensitive and respectable young man,” counsel said.
Curtailed
“He withdrew from college and was working anti-social hours. His opportunity to interact with his peers was curtailed. He split up with his girlfriend. He was chatting to peer-aged women online but unfortunately some of them turned out to be underage.
“He began to exchange videos and images [but] he never had any intention to meet up with any of these girls,” said Ms Hyland as she applied to have the matter adjourned to allow Palmer to undertake the 20 psychotherapy sessions with Dr Banks.
Judge Colin Daly granted the application and put sentencing back until next February’s sessions of Cork Circuit Criminal Court. He remanded Palmer on bail to allow him to take the psychotherapeutic treatment recommended for him.
