A couple accused of possessing child pornography on their home computer face having their children taken into care due to a nine-month delay by the Garda in analysing the hard drive.asking that it either examines the computer immediately or allow their own independent experts to examine it to determine if it contains child abuse material.Mr Justice Séamus Noonan had previously barred the press from reporting or attending the case.
The agency has imposed strict conditions on the parents relating to the children, all of which have been complied with, lawyers for the couple will argue. They argue the Garda has breached their constitutional rights and its own statutory obligations. The parents will ask the court to order the Garda to complete the analysis of their computer immediately.Alternatively, they are demanding the Garda provide them with a “forensic copy” of the computer’s hard drive “to permit their [the parents] independent assessment by duly approved experts”.
Last year a judge in Cork criticised gardaí for taking six years to bring a child pornography case to its conclusion. A garda told the court the computer crime investigation unit was hugely understaffed and had “a huge backlog” of cases.