A man has appeared in court charged with trying to communicate with a child for sexual purposes in Co Donegal.
The accused man (20s) was brought before Letterkenny District Court by detectives.
It follows allegations against him which were widely shared on social media.
Judge Eiteain Cunningham heard how the man used both Snapchat and Whatsapp to communicate with someone who he thought was a 13-year-old child.
RM Block
The man cannot be named for legal reasons.
When arrested, he was found in possession of five condoms while “other sexual paraphernalia” was found in a property.
Messages found on his phone allegedly claim how he asked the ‘girl’ if she was a virgin and if they could have sex in an apartment he had rented.
He was charged on July 16th
that between July 10th, 2025 and July 15th, 2025, both dates inclusive, within the State, he did by means of information and communication technology, namely Snapchat and WhatsApp, communicate with another person for the purpose of facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 17.
Sergeant Jim Collins told the court gardaí were objecting to bail.
He said there was “quite a lot of strong evidence” in the matter.
Sergeant Collins said detectives had obtained copies of conversations between the accused man and what was described as “a fictional child”, who he believed was 13 years of age on Snapchat and WhatsApp.
The man, with an address in the Dublin area, had booked an apartment in Letterkenny for a number of days.
Gardaí also seized other items and documents from the man’s vehicle.
Sergeant Collins said there were concerns the defendant would attempt to flee the jurisdiction. .
He said there were also concerns that, if released on bail, the man could commit further offences of a similar nature.
The man has no previous convictions and has never been before the court on other matters.
The man’s solicitor, Rory O’Brien, told the court his client has a first-class honours degree from an Irish university.
Until recently he was in active employment, but is now unemployed.
The court heard the accused man would have “no difficulty” handing his passport to the authorities.
Mr O’Brien told Judge Cunningham that bail could be considered with conditions attached.
However, the judge found the prosecution to have established a likelihood of the accused trying to evade justice.
The man was remanded in custody to appear before a future sitting of Letterkenny District Court.
Under a new law introduced in 2024, people charged with such offences are entitled to anonymity until they are convicted or the restriction is otherwise lifted by a court. Judge Cunningham directed that a publication order should remain at this time.
