The accused was aged between 14 and 17 at the time of the offending, while his victims were aged between nine and 13 years old.

The incident happened while Coward, who was on bail at the time, was leaving a hearing at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ).

The Galway native also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, relating to two videos of graphic content.

Shane Corrigan (53) pleaded guilty to using information technology to facilitate the sexual exploitation of a child

Matthew Coward (32) pleaded guilty to three counts of the sexual exploitation and three counts of production of child pornography

Matthew Coward (32) pleaded guilty to three counts of the sexual exploitation of three girls and a number of counts of production of child pornography