November 2004 Child porn man banned from computer use A LEAMINGTON man has been banned from using a computer for four years after downloading hundreds of images of child porn. Craig North, aged 25, of Radford Road, Leamington, was caught after leaving credit card details on an American website dedicated to providing indecent pictures of children. He had stored 370 images on the hard drive of his home computer. North was spared jail because most of the photographs were not of the most serious nature. He pleaded guilty to nine charges of making indecent pictures of children. He was sentenced to a three-year community rehabilitation order and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register. Police officers swooped on his home in May last year as part of Operation Ore, a national purge on offenders carried out in the UK following information obtained in the US. Yesterday, Coventry Crown Court was told North’s obsession had started when he was a college student in Bournemouth in 1999 and first used his credit card to obtain photographs. His last download of images had been just days before police officers knocked on his door. Judge Peter Ross said he must not use a computer, except for employment or education, for four years. He said: “The public interest would be best served by putting you through a programme of treatment.”