DAVID MURDOCH OF HORLEY JAILED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN NOVEMBER 2008

In November 2008, David Murdoch, a 22-year-old from Pecks Brook Lane, Horley, was sentenced to 16 months in prison after being found with over 1,000 indecent images of children. Among these was an 'instructional video' demonstrating how to abuse infants. Murdoch had created an online persona of a young girl to deceive other children into interacting with him on Google's now-defunct Hello forum.

He also sent a chat partner a movie titled Pre-teen Story, which depicted various methods of child abuse across different age groups. Murdoch was convicted at Guildford Crown Court on Friday after admitting 30 charges related to child pornography. The charges included 20 counts of making indecent images, five counts of possession, and five counts of distribution. Additionally, he pleaded guilty to a further 37 offences of distributing indecent images, which were considered during sentencing.

Many of the images recovered from two home computers, a hard drive, and CDs were categorized as Level 5, the most severe classification. Murdoch was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for ten years and was subject to a sexual offences prevention order.

Supporters, including his mother and father, attended the court hearing. The police raid on his home took place on January 10, after authorities traced his chat room username, 'complete les.' During the raid, investigators seized his devices and forensic analysis revealed Murdoch’s engagement in online conversations that involved exchanging indecent images of children.

Prosecutor Ross Weaver stated, "Images and chat logs demonstrated the lengths this defendant would go to seek out indecent images."

Defense lawyer Rupert Hallowes commented that Murdoch had generally been a loner since coming to the UK at age seven and initially struggled with the language. "He has had very little contact with females or peers his own age," Hallowes explained. "He developed an online persona to engage with females, which he is unable to do normally. He pushed boundaries inappropriately."

Hallowes also noted that Murdoch had no prior criminal record, and the court was presented with several character references on his behalf.

Judge Michael Addison emphasized the seriousness of the offences, stating, "These images are of real children being abused, and it is essential to discourage the use of such material to protect children."