AN Enniskillen man who said he is ‘addicted’ to child pornography has been jailed for three years.
At Dungannon Crown Court today, 43-year-old William Mullan, of Old Rossorry Park, was sentenced for multiple child sex offences.
He was charged with breaching a court-imposed sexual offences prevention order (SOPO), distributing child pornography, making indecent images of children and possession of indecent, prohibited and extreme images of children.
The offences occurred between October 1, 2023 and September 3, 2024.
The offences were detected after police received information that Mullan had posted an indecent photo of a child to a social media site in October of 2023.
Police investigated Mullan’s activity and attended his address in September 2024, where he was arrested.
A phone, which wasn’t disclosed as part of his SOPO requirements, was seized.
During police interview, Mullan said that he was ‘addicted’ to child pornography.
He said that following his release from prison in 2022, he bought two phones, not approved by his risk manager, with the aim of downloading indecent images of children.
He then set up a fake profile on the social media site and distributed child pornography.
However, Mullan claimed he later threw this phone into the lough because he was ‘disgusted’ with himself.
On his second phone, he downloaded thousands of indecent images of children from another social media site.
The ages of the children shown on the images ranged from new-borns to 17-year-olds.
A total of 523 photographs and 104 videos were found on Mullan’s device, but he told probation that he had ‘downloaded thousands more’.
In mitigation, the court was told that the defendant’s parents were elderly and needed assistance, which Mullan provided before his arrest.
Additionally, a psychotherapy group had agreed to take Mullan for treatment for his ‘addiction’.
However, the court noted that this was Mullan’s third time before the court for similar offences.
He previously received a probation order in 2008 and a 12-month term of imprisonment in May of 2022.
In sentencing, Judge Sherrard said that Mullan ‘sustained the miserable market’ of child abuse through possession and distribution of images.
Mullan was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment, half to be served in custody and half on licence.
He was also placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.