THIS is the face of a “dangerous paedophile” who was found to have had “stomach-churning” conversations with other predators online.
Dyfed-Powys Police has released the mugshot of Daniel Bryne-Crowley, who was jailed last week after being found guilty of three offences of making indecent images of children and one of engaging in sexual communication with a child.
He had one Category A image – the most serious type, 11 Category B images, and 10 Category C images, all from between August 2012 and September 2020, while he had been inappropriately talking with a 10-year-old boy between June 2019 and September 2020.
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The 28-year-old pleaded not guilty to all charges, despite what Judge Paul Thomas KC later described as “overwhelming evidence”.
The jury took just over half an hour to return unanimous guilty verdicts on each offence.
During the trial, prosecutor Helen Randall told the jury that police raided Byrne-Crowley’s home address on Bush Street in Pembroke Dock on October 28, 2020. They seized two phones, a MacBook computer, and an iPad, on which they found 23 child abuse images on his devices – one of which was inaccessible.
These included pictures and videos of children as young as four being sexually abused.
Ms Randall said that officers also discovered what appeared to be conversations between the complainant and other adult men discussing indecent images, masturbation, and oral sex.
Byrne-Crowley appeared to even boast to another user that he had worked at a summer camp in America where he “saw [the children] naked and taught them to masturbate,” Ms Randall said.
The police also recovered conversations on the devices with a 10-year-old boy which involved pornography, masturbation, giving the boy a computer, and going to Oakwood theme park.
During cross-examination, the defendant denied having a sexual interest in children.
“It’s a fantasy,” he replied when asked about the messages. “Wants and fantasies are completely different things.”
When asked how the images got on his devices, Byrne-Crowley said: “I don’t know. But I know I didn’t purposely download and go in search of those images.”
He later claimed, for the first time in proceedings, that the images could have been on the devices when he bought them second-hand.
At a sentencing hearing, defence barrister James Hartson said: “Nothing I can say about the offences can assist the defendant or the court.
“Mr Byrne-Crowley does not agree with the verdict, but he accepts it.”
Sentencing the defendant, Judge Thomas said: “You are clearly an exceptionally arrogant individual who is nowhere near as clever as you think you are.
“Your defence was ridiculous. It made no sense whatsoever.
“The trial you insisted on having vividly illustrated that you are potentially a very dangerous paedophile.
“The content of your conversations was stomach-churning.
“You deliberately sought the company of children, including the child you were conversing with.
“There was evidence you went to the USA in order to work at a youth camp. The messages relating to that were particularly concerning.”
Byrne-Crowley, now of Swily Road in Dublin, was jailed for a total of 21 months. He must sign the sex offenders register for 10 years, and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same amount of time.
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