Judge gives paedophile who groomed 21 victims a suspended sentence after the pervert claims he was abused by an Irish priest

A paedophile who swapped intimate pictures of himself with teenage girls has escaped with an 18 month suspended sentence after he claimed he was abused by a priest as a child in Ireland. Thomas Mulligan, 62, posed as a schoolboy on Kik Messenger, engaging in sexual communication with 21 victims. He used a fake identity online to deceive children and his status read ‘at school’, said prosecutor Soheil Khan. But Judge Nigel Seed was ‘merciful’ with the pervert after hearing…