ANTHONY NORTH SENTENCED IN HAVERHILL FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES AT IPSWICH CROWN COURT

In August 2003, a man from Haverhill named Anthony North was sentenced to four months in prison after being found guilty of downloading and possessing child pornography via the internet. The case was heard at Ipswich Crown Court, where Judge John Devaux presided over the proceedings.

North, aged 34 and residing at Fallowfield Court in Haverhill, had previously appeared before South East Suffolk magistrates, where he pleaded guilty to 16 charges related to the creation of indecent images of children under the age of 16. The magistrates committed him for sentencing at the higher court, and the judge subsequently ordered that North be registered as a sex offender for a period of seven years.

As part of the sentencing, Judge Devaux also mandated the forfeiture of all computer equipment associated with the offense, which contained the illicit material. Prosecutor Robert Sadd detailed that police officers executed a search warrant at North’s residence, uncovering a total of 40 indecent images of children stored on his computer.

During the proceedings, Mr. Sadd explained that the Court of Appeal had established specific sentencing guidelines for such offenses, categorizing them based on the severity of the material involved. The least serious category, level one, involves images depicting children in erotic poses. Of the 16 charges North admitted to, two were classified as level four, two as level three, six as level two, and six as level one.

North’s defense attorney, Michael Stephenson, argued that North had merely used a device to access the illegal site and did not actively select the level of seriousness of the images. He also revealed that North had suffered sexual abuse as a child himself and was attempting to understand his own past. According to Stephenson, North had never disclosed this history until police questioned him.

Furthermore, Stephenson stated that North had only used his credit card once to access the illegal content. However, police investigation uncovered three transactions linked to North’s credit card. Stephenson suggested that North believed the company handling his credit card had charged him additional payments without his knowledge, which he attributed to possible unauthorized charges.

Overall, the court’s decision reflected the seriousness of the offense, with North being sentenced to four months in prison, placed on the sex offenders’ register for seven years, and his computer equipment confiscated to prevent further distribution of illegal images.