EVELYN AJIE FROM CORK SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEXUAL IMAGE DISTRIBUTION INVOLVING BABY AND MINOR

In March 2021, Cork District Court heard a disturbing case involving Evelyn Ajie, a woman with deep ties to Cork and originally from Nigeria, who was convicted of distributing heinous child sexual abuse material. Ajie, a grandmother of eight and mother of four, was found guilty of multiple charges related to the possession and dissemination of explicit images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.

Gardaí were alerted to the existence of these offensive images through reports from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and major technology companies, including Google. The investigation revealed that Ajie had received these illicit images via a WhatsApp group that included members from various parts of Europe and Africa, notably Italy, Spain, and Nigeria. The group was used to share and circulate disturbing content involving minors.

During the court proceedings, Judge Olann Kelleher was informed that Ajie, residing at Clifton Terrace, Summerhill North in Cork, had pleaded guilty to three serious charges. Two of these charges involved her knowingly distributing child sexual abuse videos, which she either showed or facilitated the distribution, publication, or exportation of, on two separate dates: September 1, 2019, and October 5, 2019. The third charge concerned her possession of three videos, which depicted child sexual abuse and were stored on her electronic devices.

The court heard that Ajie had received these deeply disturbing videos, which included footage of a baby being sexually abused and a pre-pubescent boy aged 12, through the WhatsApp group. She then proceeded to forward these videos to others within the group, thereby contributing to the circulation of this vile material. Her actions have been described as a serious breach of trust and a grave violation of child safety and dignity.

Ajie, who has a significant family including four children and eight grandchildren, was sentenced to nine months in prison. Judge Kelleher explicitly refused to suspend any part of the sentence, emphasizing the severity of her actions and the need for a firm judicial response to such heinous crimes.