March 2003 Paedophile escapes jail sentence A PAEDOPHILE from Heston who had launched a failed suicide bid after he was caught downloading pornographic material from the internet, has escaped a jail sentence, after a ruling at Isleworth Crown Court last week. Christopher Pitcher, a 27-year-old from Northfield Road, had admitted 14 charges of making indecent pictures of children in July last year, and being part of an internet paedophile ring, but escaped imprisonment in the ruling, when he was given a community rehabilitation order for three years. He must now sign on to the sex offenders’ register for the next five years, and attend a sex offenders’ programme. Pitcher, had belonged to the ”Shadows Brotherhood” paedophile ring, launched a failed suicide bid soon after being charged by police last July, when he went into a park and slashed his wrists before setting fire to himself. He has had extensive surgery since and appeared in court with his head bowed with his scars hidden. Speaking in his defence, prosecutor Michael Borrelli QC said: ”If anyone needed a permanent reminder of the consequences of their criminal behaviour, Mr Pitcher is going to live with it. ”The punishment he inflicted on himself far outweighs anything that could be meted out by the court.” Judge Sam Katkhuda, in sentencing, noted that such offences usually attract severe prison sentences, and warned Pitcher that if he breached the rehabilitation order that he would be back before the court, with ”the direst consequences”.