CHRISTOPHER PLUMPTON CAUGHT WITH INDECENT IMAGES IN GOSPORT AT HYTHE MEDICAL CENTRE

In November 2008, staff members at a medical facility in Hampshire were left in shock and disbelief when they discovered disturbing indecent images of young children on the computer used at the Hythe Medical Centre. The incident unfolded when an employee opened an email and, upon clicking a link, was confronted with an inappropriate image that had been stored on the computer used by clerk Christopher Plumpton the previous day.

Realizing the severity of the situation, she immediately called over a colleague, and together they found a second indecent image on the same device. The staff promptly reported the disturbing discovery to the management of the medical centre. Authorities were then contacted, and police officers arrived to investigate the matter further.

During the investigation, the police seized the computer from the surgery, and subsequently, officers visited Plumpton’s residence in Lavinia Road, Gosport. There, they confiscated a tower computer and a laptop for forensic analysis. The examination of these devices revealed a total of 179 indecent images, confirming the severity of the offense.

Christopher Plumpton, aged 68, admitted to possessing the images and disclosed that he had been distributing them to a “closed group” for a period of three years. He faced multiple charges, including five counts of possessing indecent images and three counts of distributing such material. The court proceedings revealed that Plumpton was a pensioner with no previous criminal record and was of previously good character.

In sentencing, Judge Tom Longbotham noted from the pre-sentence report that Plumpton appeared to have been living “in virtual reality, a fantasy as a woman for several years as a form of escapism.” The court sentenced him to eight weeks in prison, suspended for a period, and ordered him to participate in meetings of the Internet sex offenders group as part of a two-year supervision order. Additionally, Plumpton was placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years, reflecting the seriousness of his actions and the need for ongoing monitoring.