A jury has convicted a man of producing child pornography as a result of online conversations in which he discussed raping and torturing children.

During what his own defence barrister described as a "disgusting fantasy conversation”, Mark Mulligan (39) made references to the children of RTE “celebrities” and to kidnapping and raping boys and girls.

Mulligan of Railway Road, Clongriffin, Dublin had pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the production of child pornography at his home on dates between March 1 and March 17, 2013.

In text conversations over Skype with an unknown person Mulligan said he would "love to rape" the three year old son of a woman he knew, because she “pissed” him off.

He then sent a non-explicit photograph of the boy to the other person. This other man, using the online identity rodub82, said: “Let’s snatch him”.

The accused discussed murdering the child and his parents.

Mark Mulligan’s own barrister described the messages as “a disgusting fantasy”, but Garnet Orange SC argued the messages were a private exchange over Skype and the words, while obscene, did not amount to child pornography.

Mr Orange told the jury that the online exchanges were between two people who were concealing their identities and were very disturbing but were in the context of a private conversation. He said that nothing further was done.

Mulligan’s messages described fantasies of raping and torturing children in several areas around Ireland.

He also said he’d like to kidnap and rape a pregnant woman and "get the kid out”.

Mulligan asked rodub82 which Irish celebrity he would rape and rodub82 named an actress while Mulligan suggested “any of the reporters on RTE”.

The other user replied “prefer their kids” and Mulligan agreed and said it would give them something to remember.

Mulligan told gardaí that the conversations were all just “sick fantasies” and he never intended to act on them.

He said: "I was only saying it, I was never going to meet anybody. We were discussing fantasy rape, as far as I was concerned nothing would be done about it. It was fantasy talk only.

"I get obsessed talking about rape and torture, I know I need help, I wish I didn’t have these thoughts.”

He said that while on the website gayireland.com he contacted a user with the word perv in their internet name and during their Skype conversation he said he “stupidly” said he was interested in raping young people.

Mulligan said he isn’t sexually attracted to children.

“I was lonely, curious, I felt like I was an undercover reporter, trying to get information. I didn’t have any real friends, anyone to talk to, I distanced myself from reality. I just wanted to talk to people,” he said.

Garnet Orange SC, in his closing speech for the defence, told the jury that what was said was an exchange by way of electronic messaging between two people hiding behind assumed identities. He said it was a private conversation that was not intended for onward use.

He told them they must determine whether words used in the skype conversation amount to child pornography.

Mr Orange submitted that the two men were “egging each other on” and “raising the stakes” during the conversation. “These two men were engaged in obscene fantasy,” he said.

Mr Orange said that not once during Mulligan’s interviews did gardaí say “child porn.” He submitted that the prosecution had sought to “shoehorn” the case into this charge.

“Lady Chatterley’s lover and Marquis de Sade are now commonly considered works of literature but when they were written they were considered the vilest concoctions or fantasy ever,” he said.

He said the contents of those books were as shocking as the contents of this exchange but they were not pornography.

“Ultimately this is not pornography. This is a gross fantasy by someone who should know better,” he said.

“You must reach a cold, clinical, clear minded decision, all the more difficult in this case, but this is what is expected of you by the people of Ireland,” he told the jury.

After a one day trial a jury of ten men and two women took 44 minutes to return a unanimous verdict of guilty.

Judge Patricia Ryan remanded Mulligan in custody for sentencing in November and thanked the jury for their service.