Man who sexually exploited girl, 16, after befriending her on Snapchat is jailed

A 50-year-old man who befriended a teenage girl on Snapchat and sexually exploited her, giving her money and alcohol in exchange for sexual favours, has been jailed for three years.

Dublin Circuit Court heard David Slattery of Priory Square, Celbridge, County Kildare, took the then 16-year-old girl to a hotel on two occasions, bought her a vape, mobile phone credit, food and alcohol, gave her cocaine once and engaged in sexual activity with her several times.

When his home was searched by gardaí, two child sexual exploitation images and two videos which had been sent to him from another teenage girl were discovered on Slattery's device, the court heard.

Slattery, a married father of two, pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining a child for sexual exploitation and one count of possessing child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, on dates in 2023. The pleas were entered on the basis that Slattery believed that both girls were 17 years old at the time, defence counsel said.

He has three previous convictions for minor road traffic offences.

The child who sent Slattery the photos and videos was tracked down by gardaí, but didn't want anything to do with a criminal investigation, the court heard. She was aged around 13 at the time.

Sentencing Slatter on Wednesday, Judge Martin Nolan said his behaviour was serious, noting he “broke the law and preyed upon” the injured parties.

READ ALSO: Drunk Irish tourists in European hotspot warned amid local law and big pub measures

The judge noted the mitigation, but said Slattery “must suffer a prison term for what he did”, imposing a sentence of three years.

Garda Cillian Duffy told the court that Slattery's child exploitation offending came to light when he was pulled over by a garda in relation to a road tax issue for his Mercedes while the girl was a passenger on August 28, 2023.

When the garda queried the relationship between them, Slattery claimed the girl was his daughter's friend and he was dropping her home.

However, Slattery was unable to provide an address and the girl was unable to provide a name for Slattery's so-called daughter. As a result, the garda called for a female garda to talk to the girl and her parents were called.

At the garda station, she seemed unwilling to talk in the presence of her father, so the female garda asked if she would like to speak in private. The girl then confided that Slattery had befriended her on Snapchat that summer, that she was 16 years old but had told him she was 17 and that he gave her money in return for “sexual stuff”.

The girl was later interviewed by specialist gardaí over three occasions in which she outlined how Slattery bought her fast food, alcohol, a vape, mobile credit and brought her to a hotel on two occasions. In one hotel, he rubbed cocaine in her gums and tried to have sex with her, eventually having anal sex with her.  

On the second occasion in a hotel, he left her two €50 notes on the desk after engaging in further sexual activity with her.

In her victim impact statement which was read out by Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, the now 17-year-old girl said her family treated her differently after the crime came to light and made her feel like it was her fault.

She said she has been robbed of her safety and sense of trust, left with memories she doesn't want and scars that will live with her forever.

“I was a victim and a child just looking for a friend,” she said. “That friend just wanted to use me, but as a child, I didn't see it like that.”

She said that counselling has helped her realise that what Slattery did was wrong and that she should not be feeling bad for him. The victim was in court for the sentence hearing.

“I don't know what justice looks like for someone like me,” she said. “I don't know if anything can undo the pain caused to me. But I deserve to be acknowledged. I deserve to be heard.”

In relation to the child sexual abuse material which was seized during a search of Slattery's home in September 2023, the court heard the two images and two videos contained explicit material of a 13-year-old child. Slattery believed she was 17, the court heard.  

READ ALSO: Devices seized by gardai investigating international distribution of child sex abuse images

Slattery was arrested in March 2024 and made no comment other than to say he thought the girl he engaged in sexual activity with was over the age of consent.

Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC, defending, said Slattery was extremely remorseful for his actions, with letters of apology handed in to the victim and the court. In the letter, Slattery said he was “a man with no moral compass” at the time of the offending.

A letter from Slattery's wife outlining his childhood circumstances was also handed in to court.

The court heard that Slattery had a cocaine addiction at the time. Defence counsel said he has since rehabilitated himself and has helped others in their recovery from drug addiction.

He has a good work history working for a family business, among other businesses, the court heard.