The offence arises from the man approaching a 16 year old girl at around 10am in a west Clare town on February 10th 2022 and offering the payment for the purpose of sexual exploitation of a child contrary to Section 3 of Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017.
Imposing the two month jail term suspended for two years on the accused, Judge Larkin said: “People have to be protected. Any young girl should not have to endure a frightening altercation like that on the street.
She said: “If he is back here again he goes to jail. That is how seriously I think children have to be protected from unwarranted, unnecessary and frightening sexual advances by some random person who is drunk.”
Solicitor, Gearoid Williams for the accused said that what occurred “wasn’t that bad”.
He said: “This happened in 2022 and nothing has happened since. My client has had a very unfortunate life. He didn’t corner her in some place where she was on her own.”
In response, Judge Larkin said that her difficulty is that the accused “quite simply doesn’t get it” after reading a Probation Report into the man.
Judge Larkin said that what occurred was “frightening and appalling”.
Judge Larkin said: “This is what this court is here to stop. I am going to impose a suspended sentence with a Section 99 bond because I want to be satisfied that he knows if there is a repetition of any of this, he goes to jail.”
Judge Larkin said that the Section 99 bond will allow the man to take directions from the Probation Service.
Judge Larkin said: “This man has had a dreadful life, I accept that, but he also needs assistance in terms of normal socialisation and whatever is going on.”
She said that through work with the Probation Service, his life will be improved and he will not be in a position where he is drinking “and he is diminishing the life of a perfectly innocent person”.
