A jury has convicted a man of producing child pornography as a result of online conversations in which he discussed raping and torturing children.

During what his own defence barrister described as a "disgusting fantasy conversation”. Mark Mulligan (39) made references to the children of RTE “celebrities” and to kidnapping and raping boys and girls.

Mulligan of Railway Road, Clongriffin, Dublin had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the production of child pornography at his home on dates between March 1 and March 17, 2013.

In text conversations over Skype with an unknown person Mulligan said he would "love to rape" the three year old son of a woman he knew, because she “pissed” him off.

He then sent a non-explicit photograph of the boy to the other person. This other man, using the online identity rodub82, said: “Let’s snatch him”.

The accused replied: "mmmm make him watch us kill his mum and dad, and then kill him”.

Garnet Orange SC, defending, told the jury that the online exchanges were between two people who were concealing their identities and were very disturbing but were in the context of a private conversation. He that nothing further was done.

After a one day trial a jury of ten men and two women took 44 minutes to return a unanimous verdict of guilty.

In one online text exchange, on the morning of St Patrick’s Day, Mulligan told rodub82: “Lots of horny kids around today in parade”.

He later wrote that he would "love to have a cottage in the middle of nowhere and take kids there and rape and torture them….and shit on their graves”. Rodub82 said they could behave “like a couple of Nazi prison guards”.

Mulligan added: “Love to pick someone up late at night boy girl man woman and rape the bastard. Every time I heard someone got raped it’s a turn on - even more when they are killed?”

He also said he’d like to kidnap and rape a pregnant woman and "get the kid out”.

Mulligan asked rodub82 which Irish celebrity he would rape and rodub82 named the actress Saoirse Ronan while Mulligan suggested “any of the reporters on RTE”. The other user replied “prefer their kids” and Mulligan agreed and said it would give them something to remember.

Mulligan told gardaí that the conversations were all just “sick fantasies” and he never intended to act on them.

He said: "I was only saying it, I was never going to meet anybody. We were discussing fantasy rape, as far as I was concerned nothing would be done about it. It was fantasy talk only.

"I get obsessed talking about rape and torture, I know I need help, I wish I didn’t have these thoughts.”

He said that while on the website gayireland.com he contacted a user with the word perv in their internet name and during their Skype conversation he said he “stupidly” said he was interested in raping young people.

Mulligan said he isn’t sexually attracted to children.

“I was lonely, curious, I felt like I was an undercover reporter, trying to get information. I didn’t have any real friends, anyone to talk to, I distanced myself from reality. I just wanted to talk to people,” he said.

Judge Patricia Ryan remanded Mulligan in custody for sentencing in November and thanked the jury for their service.

Online Editors