Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher speaks after sentencing of Michael McMonagle in Derry

Derry Journal

Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher speaking to media outside Derry courthouse after the sentencing of Michael McMonagle. Photo: Michael McMonagle arriving in court on Friday, November 8, 2024 (Pacemaker Press)

Transcript

00:00Police and other law enforcement agencies are working in the online spaces to catch

00:08paedophiles, hopefully before they traumatise and harm children in our communities.

00:14MacMonigal is a predator who is combing the internet for underage victims.

00:18As a result of a proactive policing operation led by the PSI's Child Internet Protection

00:23Team, it was discovered that from May 2020, over the course of 15 months, MacMonigal interacted

00:30with a number of child profiles between the ages of 12 and 14.

00:35He quickly turned the conversation to that of a sexual nature, and in August 2021 attempted

00:41to get what he believed to be multiple children aged 14 and up to perform sexual acts.

00:49Police then attended the home address of MacMonigal on Thursday 19 August 2021, with

00:54a warrant and a number of electronic devices received to capture evidence of the chat logs,

01:00images and identified usernames he was using online.

01:05Mr MacMonigal was interviewed and charged to attend court in relation to identified

01:09offences.

01:10He pleaded guilty on 23 September 2024.

01:16Protecting the online world requires specialist skills to ensure an investigation is of sufficient

01:21quality to bring a high-risk offender to justice.

01:26We want to use this opportunity today to send a message to vigilante groups to let our specialist

01:32teams do the job that they have been trained to do.

01:36Not only are the workings of these groups hindering our investigations in this space,

01:40they are not in a position to ensure safeguarding issues are addressed.

01:45We take great care in gathering robust evidence, and yes, we rely on the public to come forward

01:50and report concerns to us, but we are firm in our messaging that only we should take

01:55action against potential perpetrators.

01:59The safety of victims and innocent family members should be put at the forefront, as

02:04well as gathering the best possible evidence to put predators before the court.

02:09We would remind these groups that their methods also fall within the category of criminality

02:14Blackmail, assault, false imprisonment, naming but a few potential charges.

02:20Let this serve as a warning, we are everywhere.

02:23If you are attempting to communicate with a child online in a sexual way, you will be

02:28caught and you will face the full force of the law when you are.

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