The offender is identifiable in open court because there is no traditional victim, the court heard
The charges date from February 4, 2024.
The images included four photographic images created using AI and three anime videos depicting sexual acts with teenagers, contrary to Section 6(1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act.
Stephen Buckley (47) of Hunters Wood, Ballyseedy, Tralee, had no previous convictions.
The material was described in court as a Category 3 offence, with Category 1 being the most severe.
“It was viewed with that seriousness by the DPP that he would face judge and jury if he didn’t plead guilty?” said Judge David Waters.
The judge asked if Mr Buckley would be listed as a registered sex offender.
Court presenter Chris Manton stated it would depend on the nature of the sentencing.
The defendant must receive a custodial sentence to be listed, the court heard.
“I’m not prepared to leave you without a conviction but I’m not considering a custodial sentence,” the judge told Mr Buckley.
The court heard that the married father attends counselling in Duagh.
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Today’s News in 90 – Friday January 16
“There’s been nothing either before or since this,” said his solicitor, Pat Mann.
It was noted the offender is identifiable in open court because there is no traditional victim due to the nature of the offence.
Mr Buckley was remanded on continued bail to February 25 for a full probation report to assess any potential risks he poses.
The Kerry man’s guilty plea comes in the same week that social media platform X’s controversial AI tool Grok hit global controversy.
The tool, which was not directly linked to the above court hearing, was the subject of debate after it emerged it was being used to ‘nudify’ real people, mostly women and children.
In a statement on X yesterday, the company said it had imposed restrictions on “editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis”.
“This adds an extra layer of protection by helping to ensure that individuals who attempt to abuse the Grok account to violate the law or our policies can be held accountable,” it said.
Fianna Fáil TD Ryan O’Meara told the Dáil this week of the abuse of women’s images on Grok, with reports of one woman being reduced to wearing “a bit of string”, while another reported having a ball-gag in her mouth.
In the same session, Paul Murphy of People Before Profit referred to the current situation, exemplified by Grok, as a social media “hellscape”.
He accused the Government of having “drunk the big-tech Kool-Aid big time”.
Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit said content moderators were going on strike because their job was in future going to be carried out by AI itself.
Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats described Elon Musk as “a dirty little slimeball” for what had taken place with Grok.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme