Child porn charges admitted

Tim Allen (left) with his celebrity chef wife Darina

The husband of one of Ireland's best-known TV cookery show presenters has been given a nine-month suspended jail sentence after being charged with possessing child pornography.

Tim Allen, 52, a chef, who is married to celebrity chef Darina Allen of the Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, pleaded guilty to the charge at Middleton District Court on Thursday.

The jail term was suspended by District Court Judge Michael Pattwell who sentenced Allen to 240 hours community service and ordered him to contribute £26,000 (40,000 euro) to a children's charity.

Police found up to 1,000 computer images of children at Allen's home during a nationwide investigation of child pornography.

Considerable shame

Allen admitted possessing pornographic material under the terms of the 1980 Irish Child Trafficking and Pornography Act.

Detective Sergeant Brian Goulding told the court that in the raid on Allen's home, police seized 13 computers and recovered pornographic images of children, some as young as five and some engaged in sexual activity.

A number of the children were of Asian and eastern European origin.

Allen, who was accompanied to the court by his wife and four children, said he had come to the court "making absolutely no excuse" for his behaviour.

He said he was horrified at what he had done and it had brought considerable shame on both him and his family, and wrecked his credibility.

Allen also said he accepted the kind of activity he had been involved in "did untold damage to young people".

Operation Amethyst

Clinical psychologist Dr Tony Humphreys told the court Allen had sought help from him about his problem about six weeks before the raid on his home.

Allen's home was one of more than 100 addresses throughout the Irish Republic raided by police last May in an internationally-linked move against Internet child pornography activities, codenamed Operation Amethyst.

On Wednesday, Irish Circuit Court judge Brian Curtin faced a similar charge in court at Tralee, County Kerry.

The proceedings against him were adjourned until 30 April after the court was told that he was unwell.

A college lecturer and two members of the Irish Republic's Garda Siochana police force are also currently facing charges relating to child pornography.