No jail for convicted child porn offenders

NO ISLANDER prosecuted for possessing child pornography as part of autumn's Operation Ore crackdown will be jailed. Convicted offenders will only be fined, up to a maximum of £5,000. The Law Officers confirmed yesterday that because all suspects were arrested in September and charged before the law was updated in January, they would avoid prison on conviction. If the alleged crimes had been committed after the Criminal Evidence and Miscellaneous Provisions Law was registered, each would face up to six months in jail on top of or instead of a fine. It is understood that as many as 10 people arrested as part of the investigation could appear before the Magistrate's Court in the next few weeks. On Friday, bookkeeper David Hill, 38, formerly of Les Tracheries, St Sampson's, was fined £4,000 after he admitted possessing indecent photographs of children on 22 September last year. Magistrate Russell Finch described the case as 'unfortunate and repulsive' and islanders have criticised the sentence for being too lenient. As part of the same operation in Jersey this spring, one man was jailed for 18 months after he admitted downloading more than 2,700 images of children as young as three years old. One website he subscribed to was called 'child rape'. Last autumn, nine homes were raided in Guernsey and computer equipment seized as part of the international investigation. There were 11 local targets but police were unsure how many would appear in court. And last week it emerged that up to a million indecent images of children had been seized by Guernsey Police in their bid to stamp out the circulation and viewing of child porn. Investigating officer Sgt Garry Fusellier said that the pictures were found on home computers after suspects' homes were raided. He added that the work was so disturbing for his officers, they were all receiving regular counselling. The new law changed the sentencing powers of the courts surrounding the crime of possessing child pornography. It also incorporated pseudo-images, or computer-created pictures, for the first time. The law was updated after calls from Home Affairs Committee president Mike Torode in October to give the courts the powers to jail those that possessed child porn. However, when someone is sentenced, the powers of the court are restricted to what the law was when the crime was committed - not what it is when the defendant appears in court. The high-profile case last week has led to renewed calls for a sex offenders register in the island. Children Board vice-president Ann Robilliard said: 'These offences show that we need a rethink on how to deal with these offenders and one way could be with a sex offenders register to control these people. 'I know that various bodies, including the police and the Home Affairs Committee, are looking into the matter, but now these cases are coming back to court it may give us the opportunity to get things moving.' Speaking about the sentence imposed last week, she added: 'Although prison may not reform these people, it will at least keep them away from children.' Mick Dunbar, children's services manager at the NSPCC in Guernsey, would not comment on the local sentences, but said that he was aware the sentencing guidelines relating to child pornography were being looked at in the UK. 'People who pay to access these sites are injecting cash into a criminal industry that sexually exploits and damages children. Sexual abuse goes right across society and classes and people need to remain vigilant,' he said. n Anyone who has got any concerns about the welfare of a child can call the NSPCC helpline on 0800 0808 5000.