January 2016 County Durham prison officer used work computer to search for indecent images of underage girls A PRISON officer’s interest in under age girls cost him his job and good name, a court heard. The case arose after the deputy governor became aware that a member of staff at Deerbolt Young Offenders’ Institution (YOI), near Barnard Castle, County Durham, tried to access blocked websites, containing, “inappropriate and illegal content” on a work computer. Durham Crown Court was told inquiries revealed that the PT instructor Christopher Paul Burns’ log-in was used to try to access the sites. Chris Baker, prosecuting, said police were alerted and the 52-year-old was suspended from duty, in September 2014. A lap-top was recovered from his home, in Manor Road, Medomsley, near Consett, and an examination of its hard-drive revealed six indecent images of children, aged 12 to 17. Mr Baker said a further 685 images, featuring girls aged seven to 14, in underwear and school uniforms, were considered, “borderline”. The six offending images, all stills and in the lowest of the three categories for indecent material, were downloaded between July and September 2014. Mr Baker said they were accessed using search terms which made it clear the girls were underage. Examination of the Internet history revealed similarly-titled websites accessed 4,000 times between July and September 2014 containing “similar borderline images”. When interviewed Burns, a former Royal Marine, denied trying to access any indecent images and claimed he was researching and preparing power-point presentations for work, on different body types, an account he repeated to the author of the Probation Service pre-sentence report. The court heard the probation interview came after Burns admitted a single count of making indecent photographs of a child, on the day his trial was initially due to start, last month. Following brief discussion with Burns, his barrister, Robin Denny, the court was told the defendant was, “in no way”, now abiding by his claims in that report. Mr Denny described it as, “a rather sad case”. “He’s a man with very positive good character, who has offered a good deal of assistance and help in the community. “None of this material involved any sexual activity and the main feature of my mitigation is that he has lost his employment of many years, and good character, going back to an impressive military record. “His interest led to this activity, thereafter in the privacy of his own home. “It doesn’t seem to go much further than research, for his personal interest at the time.” “It’s caused him colossal damage and considerable problems, now, with debt.” Judge Christopher Prince described Burns’ explanation about planning for a presentation on body form as, “ludicrous”. But he said, given his previous positive record, and admissions, he was able to impose a two-year community order, including 12-months’ probation supervision. Burns will also be subject to registration as a sex offender for five years.