{"id":503616,"date":"2026-06-17T03:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T03:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/503616\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T03:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T03:12:14","slug":"ex-td-jim-glennon-described-convicted-child-abuser-as-friend-with-infectious-energy-the-irish-times-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/503616\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-TD Jim Glennon described convicted child abuser as \u2018friend\u2019 with \u2018infectious energy\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a> TD Jim Glennon said a man convicted of sexually exploiting a child was a \u201cfriend\u201d with a \u201cremarkable and infectious energy\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a character reference submitted to Dublin<\/a> Circuit Criminal Court in March of last year, Glennon said he \u201csimply couldn\u2019t, and still can\u2019t, reconcile the charges and now convictions with the friend for whom I had, and still have, so much respect\u201d.<\/p>\n

The ex-politician, who represented the Dublin North constituency from 2002 to 2007, wrote that he was \u201cshocked\u201d when Daniel Ramamoorthy confided in him about the court case some years ago. He said he \u201cremained in contact\u201d with Ramamoorthy after he left Ireland and wished him and his family \u201call the very best\u201d.<\/p>\n

The reference was one of many released on Tuesday following a court application by The Irish Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Fianna F\u00e1il TD Jim Glennon on Merrion Street, Dublin, in 2010. Photograph: Gareth Chaney\/Collins <\/p>\n

They were submitted to the court in advance of Ramamoorthy\u2019s sentencing for sexually exploiting a teenage boy<\/a> he met while volunteering as a Christian children\u2019s camp guide. Ramamoorthy, with addresses at Whitebarn Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin, and in Germany, was found guilty by a jury on this charge and had pleaded guilty to a separate charge of possessing child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography.<\/p>\n

At an appeal hearing last April, Judge John Edwards said not a \u201csingle one\u201d of those who provided a reference for Ramamoorthy (40) mentioned the 13-year-old victim or the \u201cvile nature\u201d of the crime. The judge said an ex-TD was among those who submitted references.<\/p>\n

Glennon later confirmed he had provided one<\/a>. He said the decision to do so was \u201cnaive\u201d and \u201cwrong\u201d. In a statement, he offered an \u201cunreserved apology to the victim and to their family\u201d to whom his actions may have caused additional pain and distress.<\/p>\n

The Irish Times on Tuesday successfully applied for access to the character references submitted on behalf of Ramamoorthy. The media organisation, through Matthew Austin of Hayes Solicitors and barrister John Maher, contended that the references were \u201cclearly part of the administration of justice\u201d and they should be released to the public via responsible accredited media. <\/p>\n

The publication believes there is a \u201cstrong public interest\u201d in reporting publicly the content of Glennon\u2019s testimonial, as well as the other character references given to the court, said Austin. He contended that the constitutional guarantee that justice shall be administered in public requires these references to be made public.<\/p>\n

The references were written by a wide range of individuals, including a representative of the Indian embassy in Dublin, a HSE project manager, a US-based co-founder of a global children\u2019s charity, a pastor, an actor and a corporate marketing executive.<\/p>\n

Glennon, who at the time of writing in March 2025 was the chair of the advisory board at Edelman Ireland communications firm, said he had known Ramamoorthy for about 15 years, having been first introduced to him by a mutual friend. He was \u201cimpressed\u201d by his \u201cintelligence and remarkable capacity for communication\u201d, as well as his instinct for sharing his talents, particularly with those less fortunate.<\/p>\n

The former politician said he became aware of Ramamoorthy\u2019s \u201cdeep religious faith\u201d and was \u201cstruck by the depth of his beliefs, the manner in which he \u2018lives\u2019 in his faith, and how he brings it to bear on all his daily activities\u201d. <\/p>\n

A representative of the Indian embassy in Ireland wrote that it was aware Ramamoorthy, an Indian national and son of a diplomat based in Dublin for several years, was convicted of the two charges.<\/p>\n

The reference, on paper headed the embassy of India Dublin, said a record will lead to visa denials, will jeopardise Ramamoorthy\u2019s career and will mean he cannot visit family who live on different continents.<\/p>\n

Angela Braswell Quinn, executive director at US-based Give Hope Global, said Ramamoorthy had a \u201cdeep commitment to serving others and making a difference in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said he was a \u201ctrusted friend and spiritual mentor\u201d who has always demonstrated honesty, responsibility and kindness in his interactions with her. He had a \u201csincere commitment\u201d to serving the community and his \u201cpositive energy and uplifting spirit have impacted many\u201d, she said. <\/p>\n

HSE project manager Vivek Bhaskaran, with an address in Malahide, Dublin, said he has known Ramamoorthy to be a \u201cdecent and well-mannered person\u201d who has \u201calways shown kindness to others\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bhaskaran said he has known him and his family since 2009 and said he has \u201calways known him to be a person of good character\u201d.<\/p>\n

An appeal against the severity of his sentence was rejected at the Court of Appeal in April, which is when some details about the character references came to light.<\/p>\n

The court noted the appellant had not taken responsibility for the offence against the boy, there was no acceptance of fault or criminal liability, no acknowledgment of the impact of his conduct on the victim, and no \u201cearnest\u201d remorse.<\/p>\n

Ramamoorthy, described in court as a motivational speaker, social media influencer and entrepreneur, had at one point acted as an adviser to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on start-ups, his sentencing hearing was told.<\/p>\n

He is the son of a diplomat and was educated at Yale University in the US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Fianna F\u00e1il TD Jim Glennon said a man convicted of sexually exploiting a child was a \u201cfriend\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[10202,615,895,61,60,112,84498],"class_list":["post-503616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-court-of-appeal","tag-dublin","tag-fianna-fail","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports","tag-the-irish-times"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}