A Dublin youth has been sent forward for trial in the Circuit Court accused of possessing child sexual abuse material featuring children as young as two years.The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified due to his age, was arrested following an investigation by a Garda Divisional Protective Service Unit in Dublin and charged with offences involving 392 images and videos.He appeared at Dublin Children’s Court, which had refused jurisdiction, and was served with a book of evidence. Judge Brendan Toale granted a return for trial order, sending the boy’s case to the higher court where it will be listed for mention on a date in October.The youth, who was granted legal aid, is accused of eight counts of production and nine charges of possessing child sexual abuse material on a date in October 2025.The court heard his home was searched and more electronic devices were seized and examined, eight of which returned positive for child sexual abuse material. Among them were 65 sexual images, 44 sexual videos, 222 child exposure images, 60 child exposure videos and one anime image.It was held the case was too serious to be heard at the Children’s Court and should be dealt with in the Circuit Court, which has wider sentencing powers.At an earlier bail hearing, it was claimed there was a large volume of unique videos and images, many of which were “self-generated” or screen recordings. The court heard the material featured abuse of children, some as young as two years of age.Det Garda Carol Corrigan told the judge the boy made no reply to each of the offences.The court heard that, arising out of a separate investigation, electronic devices were seized from the boy and submitted to the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau.Analysis found a large volume of messages between the boy and a 12-year-old girl, Corrigan said.She maintained that during the exchanges, the accused spoke of having child sexual abuse material saved on separate devices and “clearing his phone of material on a regular basis, presumably to avoid detection”.Corrigan said there was a concern about the teen’s offending escalating or that he would turn to violence.A safety plan had been put in place by Tusla, the child and family agency, stating his parents would not allow him to go online unsupervised.The court heard the boy allegedly stated that “he has been on the dark web and made reference to people paying a lot of money for child pornography and rape services”.The court heard he had no prior criminal convictions or warrant history. His bail bond includes a series of conditions restricting him from possessing devices with internet access, attending counselling, and being subject to a curfew.