The officer, who can’t be identified, was confronted by a self-styled paedophile hunting group after it was alleged the man went to meet two young girls, aged 13 and 14 for sexual intent.
Garda Siochana logo (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A serving member of the Defence Forces has been placed on Special Leave after admitting sexual communications with children while he was on duty.
The officer, who can’t be identified, was confronted by a self-styled paedophile hunting group after it was alleged the man went to meet two young girls, aged 13 and 14 for sexual intent. The officer, who has six children, is also alleged to have been sending sexually explicit messages, photos and videos to the young girls.
Paedophile hunting group, Justice Reborn, informed the officer during a sting operation, which was streamed live on Facebook on Thursday, July 2 for nearly 43 minutes, that if it wasn’t them in front of him it would have been the two young children.
When asked if he planned on sexual intent if the young girls turned up he replied: “It was on my mind, yes.”
He admitted he had bottles of alcohol in his car and was “going to bring them to Dublin Zoo, maybe the beach.”
He admitted on the live feed he is in the Defence Forces and admitted communicating with the young girls while on duty.
He was also told by the paedo hunting group that the dads of the two young girls wanted to be present at the sting and that he told his partner he was “off with the army” the day he was approached by the group.
When asked by the group why he sent sexually explicit videos, photos and messages, he replied: “Because I am f**king stupid.”
When asked “What’s the phrase we have for people like you,” he replied: “Scum.”
He then admitted he had alcohol in his car and that he said it was for him and the two young girls.
He claimed he isn’t attracted to children and claimed “I don’t know why I did this.”
The sexually explicit messages the officer sent the children were read back to him and he admitted sending them as well as sexually explicit photos and videos of himself.
When asked what his plan was if he got the two children into his car, he said “Nothing that they didn’t want.”
When asked if he was going to “fill the children with drink and then rape them,” he replied: “Drink, yeah,” and admitted he was going to “stop if they asked him to stop.”
He claimed it was the first time he had arranged to meet underage children and also admitted sending porn videos to the young girls “so they could watch to get pointers to what he could do to them.”
Before the 42 minutes and 44 seconds live video ended, the paedo hunting group told the officer: “Gardai are now on the scene.”
In a statement to this paper, the Defence Forces confirmed that a serving member was arrested by gardai and is now on Special Leave pending the outcome of an investigation.
“The Defence Forces can confirm that a serving member was arrested on July 2 by An Garda Siochana.
“The individual concerned has been placed on Special Leave without prejudice pending the outcome of an investigation.
“As this investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to provide any further comment at this time,” the statement said.
In a statement, An Garda Siochana said: “Gardai received a report of an alleged incident that occurred in the Phoenix Park, Dublin on the 2nd of July 2026. No arrests have been made at this time.
“Investigations are ongoing.
“Under section 9 Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 An Garda Siochana is the sole agency invested with the statutory role of preserving peace and public order.
“It is An Garda Siochana’s statutory role to investigate crime and enforce enacted legislation, ensuring that every citizen is afforded their constitutional right to innocence until proven guilty and a human rights-based criminal investigation.
“An Garda Siochana urges anyone with information regarding breaches of criminal law to report it directly to us, where it will be investigated professionally and thoroughly.
“An Garda Siochana works closely with our communities in line with our mission of keeping people safe.
“An Garda Siochana, in addition to Community Policing Units, has a number of initiatives in place to facilitate engagement with communities and reporting of concerns including Community Alert, Neighbourhood Watch, Community Text Alert and ‘See Something, Say Something’ and the Garda Confidential Phone number 1800 666 111.
“An Garda Siochana is acutely aware of the significant volume of misinformation, disinformation and fake news in circulation in relation to public safety.
“The actions of certain private groups are a cause for concern for An Garda Siochana and other police services.
“An Garda Siochana would be concerned that, even with the best of intentions, there is potential for confrontation between such volunteer safety patrols groups and other persons, confrontations which could result in harm to any person present.
“Additionally, there are legal concerns surrounding their activities, which may also have implications for future criminal proceedings.”
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