Pensioner caught having sexualised conversations with young girls caught by sting
A 70-year-old man was caught in a sting operation after he had sexualised conversations with parties he believed were 11 to 12-year-old girls, a court has heard.
Patrick (Pat) Linehan, previously of Comeragh Park, the Glen, Cork, last month pleaded guilty to using technology to interact with children for the purpose of sexual exploitation. He also admitted arranging to meet a child for the purpose of sexual assault.
Advertisement
Dt Garda Brendan Murray told Cork Circuit Criminal Court that on July 8th, 2023, gardaí were made aware of an incident at Comeragh Park on the northside of Cork city.
'On attending this address, they met with the accused, who was in the company of a number of people who purported to be members of an organisation called Child Online Protection Enforcers.
'A member of this group handed gardaí two USB storage devices which, he stated, contained sexualised conversations between the accused and two female children aged 11 and 12 years.'
Dt Garda Murray was informed that these girls did not exist. He stated that instead, their profiles were generated by and controlled by adults posing as children.
Advertisement
Dt Garda Murray told Judge Helen Boyle that when Mr Linehan was interviewed, he admitted he had been in contact with two girls. He said that Mr Linehan acknowledged that he was aware that girls were 11 and 12 years of age.
'He (Linehan) later stated he thought the 12-year-old was 15 or 16, as (he said) she sounded older from the texts.
'He acknowledged he had sent her images and videos, but stated they were not obscene. He also stated that she had asked to meet with him a few times, but he had never met up with her.'
Dt Garda Murray said that Mr Linehan described the communications with what he thought to be an 11-year-old girl as 'harmless fun.'
Advertisement
The court heard that gardaí analysed profiles of Facebook and WhatsApp messages between Mr Linehan and the decoy profiles of 11 and 12-year-old females.
Dt Garda Murray said that the profile pictures on Facebook and WhatsApp were of young female children who could not be mistaken to be adults.
'In the initial conversations with each of the profiles, Pat Linehan is informed he is communicating with children, and their ages are discussed on a number of occasions throughout the message threads.
'Pat Linehan initially states to both children he is 13 years old, but later, after sending selfie-type photos of himself, is challenged and admits he is older, stating he was 62."
Advertisement
He was 68 at the time.
Dt Garda Murray gave evidence to the effect that Mr Linehan sexualised the conversations very early in the communications with both profiles and described in graphic detail sexual acts he would like to perform on the young girl.
'He asks if they would perform sexual acts on him, to which they reply, questioning if they're allowed to do that, given their ages, Pat Linehan suggests nobody would know, that it would be a secret. He sent images of his penis to both girls, and he sent videos of a sexual nature to the profile of the 11 year old girl.
The message thread to both girls began on June 19th, 2023, and continued for a number of weeks, concluding on July 8th, 2023.'
Advertisement
Defence counsel Ronan Barnes, BL, indicated that his client worked for Cork County Council for over thirty years. He added that he had 'an exemplary work record.'
Sentencing will be finalised on July 1st. Mr Linehan remains in custody pending the court hearing next week.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help
.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘He left us with nothing': the British investors swindled by a German property firm
'He took everything, left us with absolutely nothing,' says David Middleton, one of thousands of British and Irish investors who racked up huge losses from the collapse of a German property ponzi scheme. The 72-year-old pensioner from Northern Ireland is referring to Charles Smethurst, the German-British businessman who set up Dolphin Capital in 2008, later renamed Dolphin Trust, then German Property Group (GPG), with 200 affiliated companies. In July 2020, the business filed for insolvency, owing more than €1bn to up to 25,000 investors around the world. Smethurst was convicted this month of 'serious fraud' and sentenced to six years and 11 months in prison by a regional court in Hildesheim, in northern Germany. As part of a plea bargain, he admitted to four of 27 counts of commercial fraud, filed against him by the Hanover public prosecutor's office last October, for total damages of €56m. The other charges were dropped in return for his confession to speed up the trial, which was due to run into August. Dolphin's glossy brochures promised readers double-digit returns for investing their money in a scheme that pledged to restore historic buildings across Germany – including the ruins of castle Dwasieden on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen – and turn them into luxury apartments. However, few were ever restored. Investors were mainly from the UK, Ireland, France, Singapore and South Korea and included financial institutions and individuals, many of whom lost their pension pots or other savings after regular interest payments dried up in 2019. Smethurst's fraud conviction related to €60m in investments made by the French fund manager Horizon AM, including €30m in the Pariser Strasse project in Berlin. The court heard that the building was never bought, but the funds were used by Smethurst's company to meet other obligations. He served a prison sentence for fraud between 2000 and 2003 in an unrelated case. Horizon said it was 'led to believe we were partnering with an experienced and reputable real estate developer' as Dolphin provided the firm with 'highly detailed due diligence documents' and sent regular reports wrongly suggesting projects were 'progressing as planned'. The investor was not aware of Smethurst's previous fraud conviction. 'According to findings from the insolvency administrator and the criminal investigation, a significant portion of the funds was diverted abroad to jurisdictions with strict banking secrecy, notably the British Virgin Islands and possibly the Cayman Islands,' Horizon said. 'These jurisdictions do not cooperate with European authorities, which means that the money trail goes cold. This illustrates the systemic failure of cross-border cooperation in cases of fraud, and why victims like us are left without meaningful recourse. 'We are still wondering where the money went, what remains, and whether it is still possible to recover anything to compensate Horizon and its investors.' UK individual investors told the Guardian they are angry, and fear that Smethurst will be released early for good conduct and recover the hidden funds for himself. Middleton and his wife, Janet, invested in Dolphin in 2015: his pension lump sum of £100,000 and her inheritance of £120,000. Their financial adviser, the late Alastair Hooks, told them it was low-risk and supported by the German government, Janet Middleton recalls. 'To be honest, I was nervous about it and strongly stated that as pensioners we could not afford to lose this amount of money, but again we were assured there was no risk.' After Dolphin filed for insolvency, Hooks did not return their calls, and the couple discovered he had unregistered from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2012. She says they have explored every avenue – even as they dealt with David being diagnosed with bowel cancer – but have not recovered any of their investment. Janet says Smethurst's sentence 'seems very lenient to me … Smethurst may well serve his sentence and even get early release for good behaviour while other people like David and I now serve a sentence in our retirement economically'. A former NHS nurse, she says the couple had been looking forward to a comfortable retirement but have had to budget their outgoings; they have not had a holiday in years and both drive 20-year-old cars. The Hildesheim court said it did not order Smethurst to make any payments to investors because it could not establish that he had personally siphoned off any funds. Justus von Buchwaldt, of the law firm BBL, the insolvency administrator who testified in June, subsequently said: 'I fear that this is only the tip of the iceberg. It is still unclear if other people were involved in this large-scale fraud and where most of the investments ended up.' Of an estimated €1.3bn of investments received by the property company, about €800m is missing. The Hanover prosecutor's office said it had investigated other company officials but could not find evidence of any wrongdoing. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion It is one of Germany's biggest investment scandals since the second world war, and the German authorities have been criticised for being slow to intervene, even though the property company stopped filing financial accounts in 2015. Alison Moncrieff-Kelly, 63, a freelance musician from Kent and former director of the Rye arts festival, was a Dolphin investor. She said: 'This seems a pathetically small price for Smethurst to pay for such heinous and convoluted levels of crime. Where's the money gone is the big question … and six years 11 months doesn't touch the sides.' Most of the listed buildings acquired by GPG were never redeveloped and left derelict. Von Buchwaldt at BBL has sold 20 of 75 properties so far, for more than €87m, and has yet to distribute the proceeds to investors. Those sold include castle Dwasieden, a listed former brewery in Bad Aibling in Bavaria and a period villa in Fürstenberg/Havel in Brandenburg. The property sales are expected to take years as the legal situation is often complex. Almost 8,000 creditors have filed claims with BBL against the collapsed property group, out of an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 investors globally. Von Buchwaldt has said BBL would work with the UK's FCA, Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Debbie Kay Randles, 67, invested £25,000 in Dolphin in 2015 and, like others, has also lost money in other investment schemes. She paid £6,000 to a financial claims company in an attempt to recover her Dolphin investment, but 'they just disappeared'. She even enlisted a private detective to track down the claims firm. 'It's just been an absolute ongoing nightmare,' she says. 'I've not got a lot left, so I'll just keep working, probably until I'm 75, and then retire.' A former TSB employee, she now works for a window blinds business and lives in York. Moncrieff-Kelly says the trial 'doesn't address this issue of how incredibly badly regulated financial affairs are in the UK … I don't know if it's happening so much in any other country in the world.' She points to the 'middlemen' – financial advisers who are typically paid commission of 20% to 30% and 'kept that money' despite 'selling a fraud'. She invested in Dolphin after her financial adviser suggested it. Moncrieff-Kelly has recovered about half her £80,000 investment – money she inherited from her late mother – from the FSCS, with the help of a claims company that took the other half as payment. The FSCS says it has paid compensation to more than 1,900 customers in relation to Dolphin/GPG investment products, and a further 150 people have open claims. Compensation may have been triggered in relation to unsuitable financial advice that customers were given. It says it cannot put a figure on the compensation paid because it includes payouts for other investment losses. The SFO declined to comment while the FCA said it could not comment on individual firms. 'People don't understand the trauma and the damage that [fraud] has done,' says David Middleton. 'People think [with] white collar crime, slick City crime, there's no victim. There is a victim.'
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Dodgy Facebook crook tried to sell me shady £80 Fire Stick… then threatened to come to my HOUSE
AS I sit and scroll through my phone, I'm being bombarded with shady adverts on Facebook offering dodgy devices with 80,000 premium channels and movies. And it didn't take long for Facebook crooks to reach out to me offering their illicit services - but this time, the criminals are going one terrifying step further. 4 4 In the message, they not only offered "24,000 channels" including Sky Sports as well as movies and series in "HD quality" - they also offered to deliver to my address and install. It might seem like great customer service, but it could put you at risk of "physical harm", experts warned me, with unscrupulous characters turning up at your door. Not only that, Brits in possession of an illegal Fire Stick could receive a £1,000 fine, while those caught selling Firesticks could face jail time. Some dodgy dealers have already been locked up for operating criminal streaming sites as part of a global crackdown, but it's the offer to come to your home address and help install the Fire Stick that'd worrying experts. Kieron Sharp, chairman at the anti-piracy organisation FACT, told The Sun: "It's alarming that criminals can openly advertise illegal streaming services and turn up at people's homes to install them. "Letting them in puts you at risk — not just physically, but digitally too." Fire Stick maker Amazon has faced criticism for not doing enough to tackle illegal streaming on its devices. The gadget's open tech is meant to give people more freedom to download apps outside Amazon's own app store, but it's also susceptible to abuse by illegal streaming operators. An Amazon spokesperson said: "Piracy is illegal, and customers should not buy these devices." It's become a major problem for broadcasters and sports bodies, estimated to cost them billions every year, and they're increasingly frustrated about the lack of action from tech companies. IPTV Crackdown Matt Hibbert, Group Director Anti-Piracy at Sky, said firms want to see faster action from big tech platforms. "We know they have the technology and the capability, now we need to see action," he told The Sun. 'I will deliver' I was approached by an account on Facebook called "Firestick updating", which randomly added me with an open profile and very clear intentions. "SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE!!!" a post on their page unashamedly reads, alongside a photo of boxes and boxes of Fire Sticks. Another image shows a rip-off of the Sky Glass interface. It continues: "£60 for year subscription. "£80 for loaded stick no shipping charges." Within minutes of accepting their friend request, I received a private message. They bragged: "I've worldwide 24,000 channels with all sports channels 80,000 daily basis updated movies and series in HD quality. 4 "You'll have everything Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple T,V Disney+, full Sky package all sports channels ppv events all Irish UK USA TV channels, movies and series on demand. When I asked if it was traceable, they responded, "No mate, not at all". What shocked me even more was that the person offered to come to my house and install it there and then. Although I didn't share my address, just my rough location, I felt quite intimidated by the offer. They wrote: "I will deliver it and set it up for you." Curiously, researching the matter on Facebook seemed to make Meta 's algorithm think I was interested in illegal streaming, and loads of very obvious ads started to appear. Illegal streaming operations usually have ties to gangs, and the money they get from it funds other serious forms of criminal activity. So the idea of having a stranger who might have dodgy links turning up at my front door was quite scary, and more so considering vulnerable people who might allow them into their homes. Jake Moore, from security firm ESET, said: "Devices sounding too good to be true and sold by someone you don't know coming to your house should be the first alarm bell, but these devices have been known to ship with viruses and other dodgy programs onboard." STRANGER DANGER The risks of illegal streaming to your online life can also be pretty devastating. Fraud is the biggest consequence. We've heard from users who chanced it and had their bank account instantly accessed. A 46-year-old Brit - who has asked to remain anonymous - was referred to a cheap streaming site which gives users access to premium channels including Sky Sports. But shortly after entering his bank details a surge of transactions were attempted on his account totalling several thousand pounds. "A couple of friends had already done it and they had no issues," he revealed to The Sun. "It all seemed quite secure, so I didn't even think at the time. "After that, the payment was taken but there were all sorts of transactions on my bank account for quite a large amount of money which were on various times and various dates for different amounts. "It's scary really, they attempted thousands." Meta's website says the company removes "millions of violating posts and accounts every day on Facebook and Instagram", which can range from serious crime like terrorism, to sexual content not allowed on the platforms. "Most of this happens automatically, with technology working behind the scenes to remove violating content – often before anyone sees it," the company claims. When reaching out to Meta about the influx of illegal streaming ads on my Facebook profile, the examples I showed were quickly taken down. But many more blatantly illegal streaming services have simply replaced them, many featuring Meta's new WhatsApp button so you can chat to sellers immediately. Meta told The Sun that reviewing ads from millions of advertisers globally against its advertising standards is essential, but not without challenges. These devices can expose your Wi-Fi network, steal personal data, spread scams, and infect your devices with malware and viruses. We urge consumers to think twice Kieron SharpFACT The company emphasised that it doesn't allow fraudulent activity and works closely with law enforcement to support investigations and keep scammers off its platforms. Detective Chief Inspector Emma Warbey, from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police, told us: "Illegal streaming is a significant challenge for the industry and while it may seem like a low-risk, high-reward crime, the proceeds are used to fund other serious forms of criminal activity. At the same time, it can expose consumers to the risks of data theft, fraud and malware. "The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit works with partners across law enforcement and the industry to take action against these criminal operations by utilising our full suite of enforcement options, including pursuing criminal prosecutions and serving 'cease and desist' notices to offenders." While it might seem like a tempting offer, Brits be warned - criminals behind the computer screens are not just looking to infiltrate your digital life but your home life too.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
From England stars' sex tape scandal to Jack Grealish's wild night out in Tenerife: Footballers' most outrageous holiday controversies after Oldham star floored woman during Ibiza pool brawl
Oldham Athletic striker Kian Harratt has found himself embroiled in controversy this week after footage emerged of him throwing a plastic chair at a woman. Harratt, 23, whose identity was exclusively revealed by MailOnline, did so last Saturday at the Marco Polo Hotel in San Antonio, Ibiza, in response to a fight that he claimed was started by a '6ft 6in bully' who punched his friend. After being hit, the woman collapsed to the ground holding her face while the other group fell into the pool and topless Harratt retreated out of shot. It comes just weeks after the forward scored the winning goal in the National League play-off final at Wembley to earn the Latics promotion to League Two. But Harratt is not the first footballer to become involved in notorious incident while enjoying a holiday abroad. Read on below for a look at some mischievous players who racked up huge bills, ran into trouble with local police and even stole a taxi. West Bromwich Albion players in taxi drama During their last season in the Premier League, which came in 2017-18, West Brom endured a miserable campaign. They went on a 20-match winless run en route to finishing bottom of the table, with things faring worse for some of the squad off the pitch. The nadir of a forgetful season for the Baggies arguably came in February 2018 when captain Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore, and Boaz Myhill allegedly stole a taxi to get back to their Spanish hotel from a McDonald's in Barcelona. At the time, police confirmed they passed the players' details on to an investigating court after racing to their five-star boutique hotel, The One, to recover the taxi following a call from a concerned receptionist. Evans was subsequently stripped of the West Brom captaincy as punishment for his actions and apologised along with his three teammates. Fortunately for the group of players involved, a Barcelona court shelved the probe against them because of a 'lack of proof.' England stars' Ayia Napa sex tape scandal While England's so-called 'Golden Generation' will be remembered for never winning a major tournament, a select few of them will also live long in the memory for their errant antics when they were not playing for the Three Lions. In 2000, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Kieron Dyer all briefly appeared in a video that contained sexually explicit content. It was filmed in the Cypriot town of Ayia Napa - a town notoriously popular with British tourists. In 2004, Channel 4 aired a brief clip of the video as part of their 2004 documentary Sex, Footballers and Videotape, claiming it was used to 'remind the viewer that [the programme] is based on real life'. The incident was subsequently revealed to the nation just days after Dyer returned home to England. After he was involved in an altercation in Ipswich that ended with him having to go to the hospital to check whether his vision had been permanently damaged, images of the sex tape appeared in the now-defunct News of the World. Dyer later revealed all behind the incident in a MailSport column in 2018, in which he wrote: 'We didn't give a s***. It was the end of the season and we thought we were invincible. Being called animals in the press ought to have curbed our enthusiasm, but we just carried on. 'We knew there were cameras around and we knew reporters were following us. We didn't care. 'They printed one picture of me on the back of a moped with Rio. That was astonishingly tame compared to the rest of the stuff we got up to, but it got me in trouble because my contract said something about not riding motorbikes.' Jack Grealish's smoke-fuelled Tenerife session Jack Grealish, once the Premier League's most expensive signing, has consistently been open about his love of playing hard on and off the field. While still at his boyhood club Aston Villa in 2015, at the age of 19, he was pictured sprawled over in the Spanish island of Tenerife. He appeared to be lying next to packets of cigarettes while holidaying there with friends during the off-season. In response to the images emerging, Villa released a statement in which they said they would hold an internal meeting with the player. Fortunately, Grealish and the club were able to put the incident behind them in the years that followed. The Villans were able to re-establish themselves as a Premier League force thanks to Grealish's exploits, while the midfielder won a Treble with Manchester City following his £100million move in 2021. Maguire's Mykonos nightmare In August 2020, England and Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire was given a 21-month suspended sentence for assaulting a police officer while on a trip to the Greek island of Mykonos. He was also convicted of attempted bribery after officers arrived to break up a brawl outside a bar. In a statement printed in Greek publication Protothema, one of the arresting officers on the night of the scrap claimed that Maguire was abusive after being placed under arrest in Greece. The statement alleges Mr Maguire shouted: 'F*** you all, f*** off, f*** the Greek police, f*** policemen, f*** Greece, f*** the Greek civilisation, I don't give a s***'. The statement adds that Maguire, 'attacked the pushed him away and kicked him in the right leg causing swelling of his left and right tibia.' However, the Man United star does not have a criminal record as his original conviction was 'nullified' and insists he is innocent. In an interview with the BBC shortly after the incident occurred, he said: 'I don't feel I owe an apology to anybody. An apology is something when you have done something wrong.' 'I don't wish it on anybody. Obviously the situation has made it difficult for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I regret putting the fans and the club through this, but I did nothing wrong.' In March this year, his defence lawyer Alexis Anagnostakis, said: 'It is impermissible that my client has been denied the fundamental right, as set out by Greek and EU law, to understand the case file in his own language, in this case English.' After the panel of judges agreed with the statement, it saw the hearing postponed until October 8, allowing court-appointed interpreters six months to translate the case file from Greek to English.
