June 2013 Sexual images shame of convicted paedophile A PENSIONER’S loneliness led him to look at “extremely disturbing” pornography on his computer despite a banning order, York Crown Court heard. David Robert Griffith was banned from possessing a computer when he was jailed in 2008 for downloading child sexual images. Helen Wheatley, prosecuting, said when police visited his home in August 2011, the officer found a laptop which had extreme sexual images involving adults, including a video. Griffith, 74, of Springfield Court, off Holgate Road, York, pleaded guilty to four charges of possessing extreme sexual images and one of breaching a sexual offences prevention order. The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, told him the images were “extremely disturbing.” He added: “Right-thinking members of the community would regard these images of being completely depraved. Had you complied with the sexual offences prevention order, had you not had a computer, you would not have been able to commit these offences. You are again publicly shamed in respect of your offending” The public would be better served by getting Griffith to change his behaviour than by locking him up again. He gave Griffith a community order with three years’ supervision and told him to go on a sex- offender treatment programme. For Griffith, Colin Byrne said he bought the computer to deal with his isolation. Through a chat room he met a “chap from Oman”. “He was caught up in this relationship with a young man, who was providing him with much needed attention,” said Mr Byrne. The other man visited Griffith’s home and they had sex. The younger man was interested in extreme pornography and sent Griffith the images which were found on his computer. Griffith had not had a computer since August 2011. Because he was put on the sex offenders’ register when he was jailed in 2008, he receives regular visits from the police. January 2008 OAP’s secret world of child pornography A LONELY pensioner who retreated into a virtual world of hard-core child abuse has been jailed. David Robert Griffith had never been in trouble with the police in nearly 70 years, but the videos and pictures on his computer were so appalling, Recorder Stuart Brown QC decided he had to lock him up for nine months. “They are of the most disgusting kind,” the judge said at York Crown Court. “They involved children of the youngest ages, they involved activities with male adults, they involved indications of a sado-masochistic kind. They may be few in number, but they are graphic in their nature.” He criticised the fact that there was no way sexual offenders on short sentences such as Griffiths could start treatment for their perversions in jail and continue once released. Griffith’s barrister, Steven Grattage, had pleaded for the pensioner to be allowed to keep his liberty so he could undergo a lengthy sex offender treatment programme. But the judge said he had to be jailed. Griffith, 69, of Main Street, Fulford, York, admitted 13 charges of possessing child porn, including baby porn. He was also put on the sex offenders’ register for ten years and banned from owning a computer or using the internet other than for legitimate reasons under supervision for the same period. Prosecutor Alan Mitcheson said police found 38 pictures on Griffith’s home computer hard drives, including nine at level four and one at level five, the highest categories of child porn. They also found videos including some at level five. Detectives were tipped off after Griffith took his computer to be repaired.