Nigerian woman Faces Jail Term On Ireland For Knowingly Distributing Child P*rnography

A 51-year-old Nigerian mother of three who forwarded a child pornography clip which showed a child being raped will have her sentencing finalised later this month.

Jadesola Agbalade pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly distributing child pornography on July 20th, 2016.

Agbalade told gardaí­ she forwarded the video clip via the messaging platform Whatsapp in a bid to warn a friend about the dangers of leaving her kids alone with her boyfriend, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

The court heard Agbalade is currently living in temporary homeless accommodation and she has no previous convictions.

Judge Karen O’Connor initially heard evidence in the case last month. On Thursday, November 9, she said she had received a detailed probation report in relation to Agbalade which she wanted time to consider.

Garda Enda Ledwith told Karl Finnegan BL, prosecuting, that he arrested a man in Dublin Airport in July 2017 in relation to credit card fraud. That man’s phone was investigated and the child pornography clip was discovered.

The court heard the clip showed a child between the ages of two and five being raped by a man. Upon further investigation, gardaí­ discovered it is an international clip that has been in circulation since about 2014.

Gardaí­ traced the phone number from which the clip was sent back to Agbalade. When they called the number, Agbalade answered and agreed to meet them at Blanchardstown shopping centre.

She handed over her phone to gardaí­ and admitted to receiving the child pornography clip and sending it on. As well as the male recipient identified by gardaí, she told gardaí­ she sent the clip to a female friend who has three young children in a bid to warn her “not to leave her children with her boyfriend”. That woman has never been identified.

Garda Ledwith agreed with Michael Bowman SC, defending, that Agbalade “didn’t understand the enormity of the situation” when she was interviewed. She told gardaí, “I didn’t know it wasn’t right. I’m sorry.”