Former HSE manager jailed for six years over abuse images

A 47-year-old man has been jailed for six years for the distribution and possession of child abuse images.

Peter O'Malley, from the Neale, Ballinrobe, in Co Mayo, was brought before Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court today.

Last month, he pleaded guilty to ten sample charges, relating to the possession and distribution of child abuse images, via an online platform.

The former Health Service Executive manager admitted to one count of causing a child to watch sexual activity, two in relation to the use of technology to facilitate child exploitation, along with three charges in relation to the possession of child abuse images and four charges relating to the distribution of such material.

The offences took place between December 2019 and April 2021.

The court heard that some of the images O'Malley exchanged were of an extremely graphic nature, depicting extreme depravity and extremely serious sexual abuse.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Eoin Garavan said O'Malley was a member of a paedophile ring, sharing images that amounted to the torture of nameless, unknown victims.

He said one could only conclude that these children were left with long term physical and emotional trauma, after experiencing "horrifying levels of abuse".

Judge Garavan imposed a sentence of six years and nine months, with the final nine months suspended, for a period of two years.

O'Malley will be subject to post-release supervision for a period of three years. He will have to have prior approval from gardaí or the Probation Services before he owns, uses, or accesses a smart phone or other digital device.

He will be obliged to provide gardaí with all email addresses he uses and must permit gardaí to inspect these devices at any time.

O'Malley first came to the attention of detectives in 2021, after his actions were uncovered via an investigation by the FBI in the United States. It identified him as being an administrator on the Kik platform, where he oversaw entry to a private group in which child abuse images were circulated.

Users had to send him three videos, or five images, of explicit material involving children, to gain admission to the group.

O'Malley's home was searched by gardaí in October 2021, during which three phones and a tablet were seized.

More than 10,000 exchanges were found on his phone. They took place on the Kik application between December 2019 and April 2021.

These involved group chats, where explicit material was exchanged with other users.

The court also heard O'Malley knowingly engaged in five online conversations with children under the age of 18, from Cork and Kilkenny.

His personal phone contained almost 129,000 images, of which approximately 70% was of pornographic nature. Among these were 249 child abuse images.

Sixty-two of these were defined as 'Category 1', featuring content involving children aged between three and 17 years of age, in which some were being sexually abused by adults.

A further 44 images were 'Category 2', featuring material in which children's genitals were exposed.

Evidence was also given in relation to exchanges O'Malley had with users on the social media platform. On one occasion, he described how he wanted to abuse the two-year-old baby of a user he engaged in conversation.

In another instance, he asked another man if he could have sexual intercourse with his 12-year-old daughter.

O'Malley qualified as an orthotics specialist in 2002 and worked in the UK until 2010, when he returned to Ireland.

He started working with the HSE in 2015, overseeing orthotic services in the Galway/Mayo region. He was also instrumental in setting up Covid-19 testing centres in Castlebar and Roscommon during the pandemic.

He was suspended by the HSE in February, when it became aware of the allegations against him. But O'Malley did not formally resign his post until June of this year, some two years and four months after he was first suspended from work.

Last month, his legal team told the court that O'Malley found himself isolated following the breakup of a relationship in late 2019.

He was drinking excessively and turned to pornography for distraction. His Senior Counsel, Desmond Dockery, said this had led him to the Kik app, which facilitates private communications between individuals and groups.

Mr Dockery said his client became fixated with the app and lacked any capacity to step back and look objectively at what he was doing.

The court heard a probation report found O'Malley was at a low risk of reoffending and was "determined to explore" what had led him to commit such crimes.

Judge Garavan described him as a "pariah to all", who was estranged from his siblings and a type of paedophile attracted to pre-pubescent children or teenagers.

O'Malley spoke only to confirm he understood the terms of his sentence and post-release arrangements during this afternoon's hearing. His jail term has been backdated to 31 October 2024, when he was first remanded in custody.