Man held over sexual violence threats to RTÉ presenter
Gardaí used IP address to trace man who sent pornographic images to Sharon Ní Bheolain
A man is being questioned and gardaí are examining a number of computers as part of an investigation into threats of sexual violence made against RTÉ presenter Sharon Ní Bheoláin.
Garda sources said the threats, which have included pornographic images being sent to the journalist via email and the postal service, are regarded as being "at the upper end of the scale".
The suspect is a 37-year-old man with an address in the middle class north Dublin suburb of Portmarnock. The Irish Times understands he has not come to the attention of the Garda before.
He was arrested at the Portmarnock address yesterday and was taken for questioning to Raheny Garda station in north Dublin.
He can be held for up to 24 hours without charge, which can be extended when periods of rest or sleep force the suspension of questioning.
Some of the material sent to the presenter via email assisted the Garda in tracing the suspect via his IP address.
That technical information coupled with the material retained by Ms Ní Bheoláin and her employer RTÉ will now be put to the Director of Public Prosecution while the suspect is still in custody in an effort to decide if he will face criminal charges today or possibly tomorrow morning.
The computers seized are also being examined by Garda technical experts to establish if there is any evidence proving the emails sent to Ms Ní Bheoláin originated on the computers or if the pornographic images sent to her were doctored on the same machines.
Examinations of that nature can take a number of days to complete and in some cases can take weeks.
Gardai say while the material sent to the mother of one was "horrendous" there is no evidence as of yet that the person who sent the emails intended to attack or even approach the news broadcaster.
"The stuff is threatening so it's something we're taking very seriously to get it to the stage where we would charge somebody," said one source.
Ms Ní Bheoláin has continued to present the main evening news bulletins on RTÉ as the Garda investigation into the campaign of harassment against her has gathered pace.
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