August 2016 Pervert put on sex offenders register for five years after pleading guilty A pervert “disowned” by his family after downloading child sex abuse images has avoided jail. Charles McHale, 36, of Foxhill, Watford, appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Friday, August 5 having pleaded guilty before magistrates to three charges of making (downloading) indecent images of children, one of possessing extreme pornography and one of possessing a prohibited image of a child. He was arrested when police went to a house of multi-occupancy in Bradshaw Road on 15 July last year. His laptop was examined and was found to have 17 images at Category A, the most serious level, 29 at Category B and 119 at Category C, the least serious level. There was one image of bestiality, said Duncan O’Donnell, prosecuting, which involved a dog, and another eight of prohibited cartoon images of children. He was handed a three year community order with conditions McHale attends the Internet Sex Offender Treatment Programme, 60 hours’ of a rehabilitation programme and 150 hours’ unpaid work. In addition he must abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, register as a sex offender for five years and pay £425 costs. Peter Eguae, defending, said: “As a consequence of what took place, Mr McHale has become estranged from his family. His mother, father and two brothers haven’t spoken to him since he was arrested.” He said all the images had been deleted after they had been viewed and McHale had co-operated with the police. Mr O’Donnell told the court the officers investigating the case had to question a ‘large number’ of innocent people, who lived at the address, because they all had access to the landlady’s wireless router. When they spoke to McHale, who works as a sales assistant, he admitted he was the one responsible. Recorder Justin Rouse QC told McHale the children that are abused suffer “profound trauma”.