BENJAMIN MCKENNA CAUGHT WITH CHILD ABUSE IMAGES IN GRIMSBY - COURT HEARS DETAILS

In a case that has shocked the community of Grimsby, Benjamin McKenna, aged 27, faced serious allegations after indecent videos were discovered on his personal laptop. The incident came to light in July 2009 when McKenna took his device to a local PC World store for repairs. During the process, the store's technical staff uncovered a series of video clips within the deleted files of his computer, which contained highly disturbing content.

Prosecutor James Sampson outlined the case at Grimsby Crown Court, explaining that the videos involved illegal material depicting young boys engaged in sexual acts. McKenna admitted to six counts of creating such indecent video clips, which he downloaded onto his laptop. The court was told that he was searching for general pornography at the time, but inadvertently downloaded these illegal clips. It was also revealed that McKenna was unable to see the explicit nature of the content until the files were saved onto his device, which compounded the severity of the offense.

Defense lawyer Stuart Lody attempted to mitigate the situation, stating that McKenna's actions were driven by a search for typical adult pornography, and that he did not intentionally seek out or view the illegal material. The court heard that McKenna viewed the videos only once before deleting them, suggesting a lack of ongoing interest or intent.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC addressed the court, emphasizing that McKenna had a tendency towards viewing extreme pornography, which led him to stumble upon the illegal content. The judge clarified that McKenna did not have a paedophilic predilection, but nonetheless committed a crime by possessing and viewing the material. As part of his sentence, McKenna received a nine-month prison term suspended for a period, along with a ban from working with children, reflecting the seriousness of the offense and the need for public protection.