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Horan gets 9.5-year sentence for "insidious and debased" sexual exploitation of children
Summary
Matthew Horan, aged 26, was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for sexually exploiting children and distributing child pornography. He used platforms such as Skype, Snapchat, Instagram and the anonymous messaging app Kik to coerce girls as young as nine into sending graphic images and videos. Forensic examination of his computer revealed recorded Skype calls with two nine‑year‑old girls, including footage of them engaging in sexual acts, and text exchanges where he threatened to post an 11‑year‑old girl's nude images unless she sent more photos. Horan pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual exploitation, distribution of child porn and possession of child porn between 2014 and 2016. Judge Martin Nolan suspended the last two years of the sentence, noting Horan's "very unhealthy, insidious and debased" interest in children and ordered a probation service report on potential interventions.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Horan gets 9.5-year sentence for "insidious and debased" sexual exploitation of children. Charges or matters: a count each of sexually exploiting two girls within the State on dates between April 1 and November 23, 2014; two more counts of sexually exploiting a child and one count of distributing child porn on dates in 2015; possessing child porn at his address on July 11, 2015; three further counts of sexually exploiting female children through Snapchat and Instagram in the State on dates between May 21, 2015 and July 7, 2016; possessing child porn on a Sony mobile phone at his home on July 7, 2016. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- April 1 Incident
- November 23, 2014 Incident
- July 11, 2015 Incident
- May 21, 2015 Incident
- July 7, 2016 Incident
- 2018-01-26 Publication
Why: "I felt scared because I told him where I had lived. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: a count each of sexually exploiting two girls within the State on dates between April 1 and November 23, 2014; two more counts of sexually exploiting a child and one count of distributing child porn on dates in 2015; possessing child porn at his address on July 11, 2015; three further counts of sexually exploiting female children through Snapchat and Instagram in the State on dates between May 21, 2015 and July 7, 2016; possessing child porn on a Sony mobile phone at his home on July 7, 2016 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge Martin Nolan suspended the last two years of the nine-and-a-half year sentence. Judge Nolan backdated the sentence to June last year, when Horan went into custody.
Places mentioned
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