A 21-YEAR-old man had sex with a 16-year-old boy he met on Tinder despite knowing the teenager was underage, a Dublin court has heard. 

Shane Chubb, now aged 24, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 17 between April 13 and April 15, 2017.

The boy was a virgin, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today.

Chubb also pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting the boy on April 15, 2017 at Chubb’s  home address at Cookstown Road, Tallaght. He has no previous convictions. 

Sergeant Gary Farrell told the court that the victim, who can’t be named to protect his anonymity, joined Tinder in 2016 before being removed from the dating app as he was under the age of 18. 

In 2017, he re-joined the app with a fake date of birth and got chatting to Chubb online. The boy told Chubb he was only 16, but that he was “mature”. 

The pair kept in contact and made arrangements to meet in Chubb’s home for tea, before the boy suggested that he stay the night. 

During this visit, the pair “ended up having sex”, Sgt Farrell told the court, with the boy later telling gardaí: “He took my virginity”. 

The pair met the next day in Chubb’s house where they discussed what had happened, with the boy telling Chubb this was his first experience of sex.

Later on, Chubb started kissing the boy and then started biting him, including on his chest, arms and thighs. 

The boy eventually screamed out in pain at one of the bites, asking Chubb: “Why did you do that?” He left shortly afterwards. 

The boy texted Chubb later that night saying: “You really hurt me and scared me a bit.” The boy said he no longer wanted to keep in touch. 

Chubb replied saying “I hurt and scared you?” He added: “I hope you know I never intended to hurt or scare you.” He apologised for biting the boy. 

The boy confided in his sister about the incident and went to gardaí a couple of days later.

He was not in court for the sentence hearing and did not wish to make a victim impact statement, the court heard. 

James Dwyer SC, defending, said his client had a history of Tourettes, ADHD and OCD. His mother suffered with drug addiction issues and he had a difficult childhood marred by abuse and neglect. 

Despite this, he got a scholarship to private secondary school Clongowes Wood College but “he didn’t get on there, due to his weight and his sexuality”, Dwyer said. He completed his education at a local school and got a scholarship to Trinity College Dublin. 

In a letter addressed to his victim and read out in court, Chubb said: “It is difficult to put into words my remorse. When we first started talking, you made clear to me your age. To my mind, the age didn’t matter. When I was 16, I acted like I was 20.” 

But Chubb said he knows now what he did was wrong. “I don’t want to play the victim. You are the victim, and I am sorry.” He apologised for the “emotional pain and turmoil” he put the boy through. 

Dwyer submitted that the age gap between Chubb and the boy was “smaller than it often is in such cases”. 

“Equally for the complainant and the defendant, although this country has moved on, young gay men have a lot of psychological difficulties in relation to sex in a heteronormative society,” he said. 

Judge Karen O’Connor adjourned the matter for sentence on October 28. 

“The circumstances of this case are difficult,” she said. “I have a lot to consider.”

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