APRIL 2011 Wheathampstead student blamed parents for child porn stash A STUDENT attempted to blame his parents for a sickening cache of child pornography discovered on a family computer, a court heard. Anthony Hurst, 23, was caught with more than 3,500 indecent images of boys aged between six and one. He initially told the police that he knew nothing about the pictures, saying they would have to speak to his parents as it was their computer, St Albans Crown Court heard last Tuesday. But when Hurst, of Garden Court, Wheathampstead, appeared at court for a trial he changed his story and pleaded guilty to ten counts of making indecent images and one count of possessing indecent images in July 2009. A total of 258 images discovered were at Level 4, the second most serious, 39 were at Level 3, 69 at Level 2 and 3,415 at Level 1. Defence barrister Bozzie Sheffi said Hurst normally lives in Belgium where he is studying and lives with his parents in this country. She said he would be prepared to suspend his studies to attend a treatment programme in this country. She said: “He accepts full responsibility. These offences go back nearly two years. He has a supportive family and has not been in any more trouble.” Judge Martin Griffith said: “In cases like this I could always lock someone up, but he will not benefit and we will not be better off when he is released.” He passed instead passed a three-year community order with a requirement that Hurst attends a sex offender treatment programme that is expected to last two years. He must sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years and abide by a sex offences prevention order that will allow the police to examine his computer and bans him from being alone with children under 16. The judge ordered him to pay £1,000 and prosecution costs of £3,500.