LAST UPDATE | 3 May 2023

A FORMER GP has received a fully-suspended sentence of one year’s imprisonment for the possession and distribution of sexually explicit images of two children. 

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Ronan Keogan (51) was involved in “thrill-seeking behaviour”, was meeting many women for sex and had sent and received naked photos to and from many women of all ages. 

The offending came to light after a woman who Keogan was meeting for sex went to gardaí reporting that Keogan had sent her a sexually explicit image of a child and told her “this girl is 15”. He later told gardaí the girl was aged 17. 

When gardaí searched his computer they found 383 folders of images of women on his phone, containing 10,000 images in total. Three of these images depicted a child in a sexually explicit position, one of which he had sent to an adult woman he was meeting for sex.

Keogan of College Square, Terenure, pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly distributing child pornography at an unknown location within the State on 26 March 2017. He also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing three child pornography images at an address in Templeogue, Dublin, on 15 May 2017. 

The married father-of-two has no previous convictions and has not come to the attention of the gardaí since 2017. 

During a garda interview, Keogan said anyone he has had sexual contact with was at or above the age of consent. He said he would not knowingly engage in sexual activity with someone not capable of giving consent. 

Detective Garda Byrne agreed with Lorcan Staines SC, defending, that at the time, his client was in his mid-40s and a GP who ran his own practice. He was an employer in the community, a very well-respected man in the community, and a married father.

The garda agreed with counsel that he had the task of trawling through all of Keogan’s devices and that there was a much different man behind the scenes compared to this “outward persona”. 

Staines said his client’s marriage had broken down. He said his client had a huge appetite for sexual activity and was active on many online dating websites. 

He said he was also suffering from stress due to a pending inquest. He was also under the care of a doctor and taking medication for anxiety and depression. 

Staines said his client was involved in “thrill-seeking behaviour” and was meeting many women for sex. Counsel said his client sent and received naked photos to and from many women. 

The court heard that the sexually explicit image sent to the woman on “Kik” was a selfie taken by the girl in the image with no suggestion of any violence in the image. Two other images found on his phone were also selfies taken by the girl. 

Staines said his client’s behaviour ultimately cost him everything. He has now been removed from the Medical Council, his practice has closed and he will never practice as a doctor again, all due to his own actions, counsel said. 

He has also lost all forms of income and his practice was also previously vandalised due to media coverage, Staines told the court. He asked the court to take into account that this was the lowest level of offending compared to what the court was used to dealing with.

After hearing evidence last month, Ms Justice Patricia Ryan adjourned the case to today for sentencing. 

She said that the evidence before her was that the images were at the low level in terms of child pornography, and didn’t appear to involve any other persons. She said the images and the conversation with the woman amounted to “child pornography”, under the law. 

She said the court had to take into consideration the personal circumstances of the defendant, including the fact that he was suffering from depression and was taking medication for anxiety. She noted that the tragic death of a patient had had a very bad effect on him at the time of the offending. 

She noted the effect of the conviction on the defendant’s career, his income, his professional and personal reputation, as well as on his marriage and his family relations. 

She said there was nothing in the prosecution case that suggested Keogan had abused his position as a GP to carry out the offending. She noted that the prosecution was able to rely on Keogan’s own admissions that the girl in one of the pictures was 15. 

She imposed a one year prison sentence and suspended it on condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for that period. The judge said Keogan had already received a significant punishment as a result of the convictions, noting also that he would now be a registered sex offender. 

When the case first came before Dublin District Court lawyers defending Keogan applied for an order restricting publicity of the case. In response to a query from a journalist, a State solicitor told the court the order should not be in place.

The gagging order remained in place when the case went to the Circuit Court. Following an informal query from a journalist and formal applications from lawyers acting on behalf of Mediahuis, RTÉ and other media outlets, the order was lifted.

Additional evidence

Detective Garda Stephen Byrne told Eoin Lawlor BL, prosecuting, that on 27 March 2017, a woman presented to Clontarf Garda Station. She told gardaí that the previous month she joined the Ashley Madison website, where people who want to have affairs can meet. 

Detective Garda Byrne said she began communicating with a man who went under a pseudonym, but told her that he was a GP in Templeogue. The pair continued to communicate on a different online platform called ‘Kik’, and discussed her dressing up like a schoolgirl; they arranged to meet, which resulted in them engaging in sexual activity.

The court heard that Keogan later sent the woman a text saying, “This girl is 15,” followed up with three pictures. He later claimed to gardaí that the girl was 17. 

The woman then asked Keogan, “What is the lowest you would go?” and he replied, “15, I think”. The woman raised a concern over the sharing of the images, but Keogan told her, “She was ok with me showing it,” the court heard. 

On the foot of this information, gardaí obtained two search warrants for Keogan’s medical centre and his home. On 15 May 2017, at 6.45pm, gardaí executed the search warrant on the medical centre. 

During the search, Keogan handed over his mobile phone and PIN and was fully cooperative with gardaí. He was asked if he had sent images of a young girl to a woman, and he replied, “Was she in a bath? She is from Cork. She is 17 years old. That’s what she told me.” 

Gardaí also asked the accused if he ever gave the impression that he was into underage girls, and he said, “No, 19 or 20, in school uniforms, but I’m not into underage girls”. 

The court heard that a warrant was then executed on his family home, but nothing of evidential value was found. 

The court heard that Keogan had 383 folders of images of women on his phone, resulting in over 10,000 images in total from women of all ages. Of these 10,000 images, three were of a child pornography nature.

These included one of the three images sent to the woman and another two were of a second underage girl. 

Detective Garda Byrne agreed with defence counsel that the three images he sent to the woman’s phone seem to have been taken by the girl herself and that only one of the images was considered “child pornography”.

The other two images not categorised as child pornography, showed, respectively, the girl’s face and the girl’s naked body in a bath with her breast visible, the court heard.