WALSALL MAN CARL POWELL SPARED JAIL AFTER CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES

In June 2014, Carl Powell, a resident of Walsall, was given a non-custodial sentence after admitting to creating nearly 440 indecent images of children. Powell was ordered to participate in a sex offender group program and to register as a sex offender.

The police arrested Powell following a raid on his home in Walsall in May of the previous year, prompted by information they received. During the raid, officers seized his computer, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told by prosecutor Mr. Nicholas Burn.

The court was informed that approximately 100 of the images found on Powell’s computer fell into the most severe category of child abuse imagery.

Mr. Burn stated that Powell, aged 51, fully admitted to the police that he had developed an interest in viewing such images, although he was initially shocked by the material he discovered. He emphasized that Powell, who had a previously respectable character, had not distributed the images or shown them to others.

While not a large number of images overall, some were classified as being at the most serious end of this type of offending, which could potentially lead to imprisonment.

Powell, of Harden Road, Leamore, pleaded guilty to four charges of making indecent images of children dating between April 2011 and May 2013.

Judge Michael Challinor sentenced Powell to a three-year community order, which includes mandatory attendance at a sex offender group program. Additional penalties included a 10-year sexual offences prevention order, and Powell will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.