Man who had indecent images of children is spared jail

Man who had indecent images of children is spared jail

28 March 2018

A CASTLEWELLAN man who admitted a series of offences relating to indecent photographs of children has avoided jail.

George Wilson (47), of Ballylough Road, was ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service and spend three years on Probation when he appeared for sentencing at Laganside Courthouse in Belfast on Thursday.

In January Wilson entered guilty pleas to 17 charges of possessing indecent photographs or pseudo photographs of children, four charges of making indecent photographs or pseudo photographs of children and one charge of distributing or showing an indecent photograph or pseudo photograph of a child.

He also admitted a further two charges of possessing an extreme pornographic image. The offences occurred between October 2006 and December 2015.

Wilson denied two charges of taking or making an indecent photograph or pseudo photograph of a child and these charges were left on the books.

At Thursday’s sentencing, a defence barrister said Wilson was well known in the Castlewellan community through his own business and through his church.

“He has lost that good name and it will take many years for him to restore that,” the barrister said.

Despite the “great wrong” he had committed, the lawyer said Wilson had received support from some members of his church and had received Christian counselling which had had a “positive effect”.

The lawyer pointed out that of the 28 images in question, most were Class C — the least offensive of abuse image classification.

“There is no commercial aspect,” he said. “He was not involved in the production of images.”

The court heard that among the 17 offences he admitted, one involved a picture of a semi-naked child.

Wilson initially claimed, while discussing the photo in an internet chat room, that the child was a friend of his daughter. However, Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland accepted this was actually an image downloaded from the internet and had been an attempt to ingratiate himself with like-minded individuals in the chat room.

The judge had harsh words for Wilson and others involved in viewing such images on the internet.

“This was a real person,” he said. “There needs to be a dose of reality. These are real images. These are real people.

“These are real children who have totally lost their innocence, been brutalised, sometimes by their parents, sometimes by other individuals.

“They have been raped. They have suffered extreme degradation….it is then spread to a wider audience to people like you.”

The judge added that such photos involved “real abuse and dealing with the most appalling evil perpetrated against young people”.

He said that when sentencing, however, he took into account Wilson’s cooperation with police and his clear criminal record.

On hearing of a pilot sentencing scheme running in Downpatrick, in which an ‘enhanced combination order’ of community service and Probation was used as an alternative to a short jail term, the judge decided this was the most appropriate sentence.

As well as the 100 hours’ community service and three-year Probation Order, Wilson was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for five years.