Child abuse cases taking up to 10 years to be dealt with

Child abuse cases taking up to 10 years to be dealt with

Criminal cases concerning possession or distribution of child abuse material are taking up to 10 years to be dealt with, according to new analysis.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court sentenced 45 offenders between 1 January 2018 and 1 January 2020, according to figures obtained by The Irish Times.

On average, it took four years and 10 months after the seizure of a device by gardaí for a sentence to be handed down by the court.

The average was four years and six months in 2018, rising to five years and one month in 2019.

Most offenders (58 per cent) were eventually spared jail and received either a suspended sentence or probation.

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