Latest news with #Corry
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork man who sent 2,500 explicit messages to boy, 15, has suspended sentence overturned
A Cork man who received a fully suspended term for sending 2,500 sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old boy and having thousands of child abuse images has been jailed for three years after the Court of Appeal found his original sentence was too lenient. James Varian, aged 32, with an address at Lois na Greine, South Douglas Road, Cork, was found to have 7,781 child pornography images on his mobile phone, with the majority of the files related to prepubescent children under the age of 12. Varian pleaded guilty to using information and communication technology to facilitate the sexual exploitation of a child contrary to section 8 (1) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. He also pleaded guilty to the possession of child pornography contrary to section 6 (1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998, as amended by section 14 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. The judge also took into consideration an offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice contrary to common law. On November 19, 2024, Varian was sentenced by Judge Dermot Sheehan in Cork Circuit Criminal Court. He received four years fully suspended for the charge of facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child, and two years fully suspended for the possession of child abuse images. The Director of Public Prosecutions had appealed the sentence on the grounds that it was too lenient. At the original sentencing hearing, Detective Sergeant Brendan Corry said that on January 4, 2022, gardaí were called to an address and spoke to a father who said that images and other media files of a sexual nature were found on a home computer a 15-year-old boy had been using. Det. Sgt Corry said that gardaí found messages of a sexually explicit nature were being sent to the boy, mostly through the messaging site Telegram. He said that on January 5, the respondent phoned gardaí to say that he was the subject of a garda inquiry and on January 6 a warrant was obtained to search his home. He said that the communication discovered by gardaí was 'alarmingly excessive, with in excess of two thousand five hundred messages exchanged over a period of nine days spanning between December 26, 2021 and January 4, 2022". At the time of offending, Varian was 28 years old, while the boy was 15. Det. Sgt Corry said that on January 4, upon discovering that gardaí were investigating, Varian also directed the boy to 'purge chats, delete everything'. He said that Varian was arrested on May 30, 2022, was detained and interviewed on two occasions where he made no admissions. He said that the seized phone was found to contain 7,781 images classed as child pornography, with 6,431 of these images deemed as 'child animation'. Prosecution and defence arguments Counsel for the DPP, Emmet Boyle BL, told the Court of Appeal that the sentencing judge erred in failing to attach appropriate weight to aggravating factors in the case. He said these factors included the amount of messages sent to the child, the disparity of age between the defendant and the victim, his urging the boy to delete the messages and his risk of re-offending which was outlined by the probation services. Mr Boyle also said that the sentencing judge put undue weight on the mitigating factors in the case, like Varian's lack of previous convictions and his early guilty plea. Defence counsel for Varian, Jane Hyland SC, said that the decision to fully suspend his sentence was justified and the judge was exercising within his discretion in the sentencing. She said that her client lost his job as a result of the incident, that he suffers from mental health problems and that he also suffered reputationally from the incident. Ruling Returning judgement, Mr Justice John Edwards said that the sentencing judge's reasons for fully suspending the sentences were 'relatively sparse', giving only Varian's age and the fact that he was a first-time offender. He said that the judge acted in error to fully suspend the sentences and that the decision was not proportionate to the gravity of the offending. He said that the sentencing was 'outside the norm and unduly lenient'. He also said that although the court noted Varian's assertions of his remorse, his letter of apology presented to the judge failed to mention his young victim at all. Mr Justice Edwards said that the court decided to quash the original sentences and proceeded to re-sentencing. He said that there was no issue with the original headline sentences imposed at six years for sending explicit messages and four years for the possession of child abuse images. He said that the court also accepted the discount of two years for both counts given in mitigation by the sentencing judge. The Court of Appeal sentenced Varian to four years in custody with the final 12 months suspended for a period of 12 months for the count of sending explicit messages. They also sentenced him to two years in custody for the count of possession of child abuse images, to run concurrently with the first.
Belfast Telegraph
4 days ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Sienna Evans follows in footsteps of famous Father and Uncle at SuperCupNI: ‘I love playing for Manchester United'
The name Evans is written into the history of Northern Ireland football as well as Manchester United and a new generation may now take that into the future. With a father who won 69 caps and an uncle who retired as an international centurion and a three-time Premier League winner there is no doubt that Sienna Evans has the game in her genes. 'I started playing football at seven and then stopped for a couple of years,' said Sienna. 'When I came back into it I went to a local club and then then I got signed to United.' If there any extra expectation on Sienna because her father Corry and uncle Jonny both started off at Old Trafford and went on to make it all the way in the game the pressure comes more from the badge on the front of her shirt than the name on the back. 'It's good being at a club like Manchester United. It's a bit pressuring because you've got to hold United up,' she said. For dad Corry coming back to watch his daughter playing in the SuperCup NI is a real homecoming as the Girls Junior tournament is being played in the same area that he grew up before the family moved to Manchester. 'It's a really proud moment for myself and my family to have her playing. I'm really excited,' said Corry. 'The girls are playing in Newtownabbey to it's close to home for us. Rathcoole, Monkstown and Chimney Corner. She's got a lot of fans coming from the family members and we're all looking forward to it.' Being at the opening parade and looking around the Coleraine Showgrounds also brought memories flooding back for Corry, who is currently pondering what the future holds for him after helping Oldham Athletic earn promotion back into the Football League, of his SuperCup experiences both good and painful – literally. Lifting the Elite Tournament trophy after Northern Ireland beat Denmark in the 2009 Final was a special moment and significant too for a group that included Josh Magennis, Conor McLaughin, Oliver Norwood, who all went on to play at the Euro 2016 Finals. 'I was a bit unfortunate, I moved away when I was meant to play for County Antrim and missed that one,' he recalled. 'I was meant to come back with Manchester United, my knee swelled up the day before and the physios ruled me out. 'I remember going home and crying eyes out because it was a dream to play in the tournament and I was coming home to play. I was captain as well that year. 'I had two unlucky times and then finally I got to play with Northern Ireland and we won the Elite tournament. We beat Denmark in the Final, which was great. 'It was important because it was the first bit of success that we had as that group and that group came through together and went on to be a part of 2016.' So can we expect to see Sienna go all the way and emulate the famous members of her family in the future? 'She's got ability, but that's only half of it,' said Corry. 'You need stick-ability and a mentality and determination to keep going. 'She's really looking forward to the tournament. She's excited for it and I've been telling her all the stories about how I used to come up and watch all the games when I was younger. It's part of our tradition as a family to come and watch the tournament.' Manchester United first face Larne on Monday, then FC United from the USA on Tuesday before meeting Crusaders in their final group game on Wednesday.
The Age
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Cheeto dust storms in the Central West
'I woke, shaken by a dream in which the leader of the free world attended a State of Origin match and was so taken by our great state that he elected to spend his remaining years in NSW,' says a panicked Don Bain of Port Macquarie. 'Mind you, he'd look home-grown in Orange.' 'The story of the music-loving brush turkey (C8) reminds me of a friend whose skink would come in to sit and watch the news with her,' recalls Nola Tucker of Kiama. 'When it was over, they'd exchange meaningful 'good grief' glances, then the skink would take itself outside to no doubt brood on the weirdness of humans.' 'Watching the splendid Lucy Worsley and her doco about Jack the Ripper, I see in the neighbourhood where it all happened, a barber shop called Jack the Clipper and a fish and chip shop called Jack the Chipper,' observes Peter Riley of Penrith. 'Even Benny Hill wouldn't have been that crass.' Never saw Column 8 as the bailiwick of certain substances, but after the efforts of Davids Pyke and Corry, (C8) we're not so sure. And now we have Caz Willis of Bowral, who is 'wondering if David (Corry) ever stopped at the singing mushroom on old Pacific Highway, around Gosford? On a midnight journey, we stopped for loo break for the dogs, only to find a large colourful mushroom in the middle of the park. When you pushed a button, it sang a ditty about the local area and its highlights. We had to stop on the way back to make sure it was really there. The dogs would neither confirm nor deny!' Mention of Little Roger and the Goosebumps (C8) reminded Barrie Restall of Teven of a visit to the 14th Australian Jazz Convention in Cootamundra in 1959. 'There was a band called Jock Strap and His Elastic Band. They were a bit smelly.'
Sydney Morning Herald
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Cheeto dust storms in the Central West
'I woke, shaken by a dream in which the leader of the free world attended a State of Origin match and was so taken by our great state that he elected to spend his remaining years in NSW,' says a panicked Don Bain of Port Macquarie. 'Mind you, he'd look home-grown in Orange.' 'The story of the music-loving brush turkey (C8) reminds me of a friend whose skink would come in to sit and watch the news with her,' recalls Nola Tucker of Kiama. 'When it was over, they'd exchange meaningful 'good grief' glances, then the skink would take itself outside to no doubt brood on the weirdness of humans.' 'Watching the splendid Lucy Worsley and her doco about Jack the Ripper, I see in the neighbourhood where it all happened, a barber shop called Jack the Clipper and a fish and chip shop called Jack the Chipper,' observes Peter Riley of Penrith. 'Even Benny Hill wouldn't have been that crass.' Never saw Column 8 as the bailiwick of certain substances, but after the efforts of Davids Pyke and Corry, (C8) we're not so sure. And now we have Caz Willis of Bowral, who is 'wondering if David (Corry) ever stopped at the singing mushroom on old Pacific Highway, around Gosford? On a midnight journey, we stopped for loo break for the dogs, only to find a large colourful mushroom in the middle of the park. When you pushed a button, it sang a ditty about the local area and its highlights. We had to stop on the way back to make sure it was really there. The dogs would neither confirm nor deny!' Mention of Little Roger and the Goosebumps (C8) reminded Barrie Restall of Teven of a visit to the 14th Australian Jazz Convention in Cootamundra in 1959. 'There was a band called Jock Strap and His Elastic Band. They were a bit smelly.'
RTÉ News
08-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Shelbourne tempo will be key to getting better of out-of-season Linfield
Richie Towell says Shelbourne must use the disparity in match sharpness to their advantage when they face Linfield in Wednesday's Champions League qualifier at Tolka Park. The first leg fixture between last season's SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division champions and NIFL Premiership holders will be live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Shels go into the game after a period of turmoil following Damien Duff's abrupt decision to depart as manager two weeks ago. But the Reds have looked to bring about some stability by appointing Duff's long-time assistant, former Republic of Ireland and Premier League defender Joey O'Brien, as head coach. After back-to-back draws as interim boss, O'Brien's Shels got back to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over bottom side Cork City on Friday. That will breathe confidence back into their ranks. But ahead of the Linfield clash on Wednesday and next week's second leg in Belfast, former Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk midfielder Towell believes the tempo Shels play at will be key to their hopes, given that David Healy's side are in pre-season mode - with the exception of a NIFL Charity Shield fixture against Dungannon Swifts last Friday. "For Shelbourne to get the draw that they have, it's a massive, massive bonus for them," he said. "Linfield are in the midst of pre-season now. Paul (Corry) will tell you, when you're in the midst of pre-season, you never feel great. "Pre-season is a hard slog. You come back in after having a couple of weeks off and it's a grind. The legs constantly feel heavy. "I remember even when I was at Brighton, full of Championship and Premier Leauge players, and you'd go and play against a League Two team, and you'd be getting beaten 2-0 and you just feel like, 'What's going on here?' You can't get the legs going. "So hopefully the Linfield players are a little bit like that. Now, I know times have changed and it's not running until you get sick anymore. It's a lot more science based. "I do understand that. But still, Shelbourne are in the middle of the season, they should be firing all guns blazing. They have to go for it, they have to go for the jugular. "They're playing against a Linfield team who, as we said, are in pre-season. If (Shelbourne) don't go and really raise the levels and have a really high tempo against them, it could backfire." Also speaking on the podcast, former Sheffield Wednesday, UCD and Shamrock Rovers midfielder Paul Corry, who agreed that Shelbourne have a "huge advantage" over Linfield when it comes to match sharpness, highlighted how vital getting through the tie is if the Drumcondra club harbour any hopes of playing league phase football in Europe with all the financial benefits accrued. As Shamrock Rovers showed last season, getting to at least the second qualifying round in the Champions League makes the path that bit wider towards the Conference League's own league phase. And Corry feels Shels are showing signs of a return to form under O'Brien just in time for Linfield, with Harry Wood and Mipo Odubeko among the goals more often. "There's been a little bit of a bounce in some of the performances since Damien Duff has left," he said. "They're obviously giving away very sloppy goals but even the little bounce in the likes of Odubeko, who's come in and probably has a little bit more confidence. "He's come in, he's scored goals. I know he's missed chances and that was very evident when they played Galway (United). But there are small little bits of hope there for Shels fans that they have turned a little bit of a corner in the last 7-10 days and you'd be hoping that they can continue on that trajectory over the next ten days which is ultimately going to be the most important stage of their season."
