The State has refused to pay for the legal costs of an Irishman wanted in the US on child porn charges. Eric-Eoin Marques, who has an address at Mountjoy Square in Dublin, is seeking a review of a decision not to prosecute him here in Ireland.
Mr. Marques is described by the FBI as "the largest facilitator of child porn in the world".
He is wanted by US authorities to face charges relating to child porn images on over 100 anonymous websites.
Despite earning €1.5 million between 2007 and 2012, Marques claims he is financially broke, and the High Court heard his application for legal aid yesterday.
He said he transferred substantial amounts of cash to his ex-girlfriend and other friends in need of money.
From the stand he said he rarely went out, ate McDonalds every day and spent hundreds of euro a week on escorts.
In arriving at his decision today, Mr. Justice John Edwards said it was difficult to get a handle on whether Mr. Marques (28) was telling him the truth about his finances and felt he had no choice but to refuse legal aid.
He will now have to foot the entire bill for his judicial review proceedings which are due to get underway later this month.
