GRAHAM PITCAIRN FROM DOVER JAILED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY DOWNLOADS ON FOLKESTONE ROAD

In April 2021, a man from Dover was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of possessing and downloading a vast collection of indecent images of children. The individual, Graham Pitcairn, who resides on Folkestone Road in Dover, argued that his actions were driven by depression and anxiety, claiming these mental health issues contributed to his illicit activities.

It was revealed during court proceedings that Pitcairn had previously received a suspended prison sentence in 2008 for similar offences, indicating a troubling pattern of behavior. Despite this prior conviction, he continued to engage in the possession and distribution of child exploitation material. In 2019, authorities uncovered that he had accumulated more than 3,000 still images and 64 moving images, which ranged across the most severe categories, from Category A to Category C.

The investigation uncovered devices at his residence that contained numerous videos depicting children being abused. When police officers arrived at his home following a tip-off, Pitcairn cooperated by handing over a laptop and two USB memory sticks. During questioning, he admitted to being attracted to children and explained that he used the dark web, employing proxy servers to access the illegal content.

Prosecutor James Benson detailed that Pitcairn believed his consumption of such material had become an addiction, which he claimed helped alleviate his depression. Throughout the court proceedings, Pitcairn maintained a demeanor of remorse or perhaps resignation, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor as Mr. Benson presented the case against him.

The prosecution highlighted several aggravating factors, including the fact that some of the children depicted in the images were as young as four years old. Additionally, the sheer volume of illicit material—comprising 481 Category A images, 1,044 Category B images, and 1,837 Category C images—underscored the severity of his offending. It was also noted that Pitcairn had a criminal record for similar offences, further emphasizing his repeated engagement in such criminal activity.

Following his arrest in May 2019, the court ordered that all devices containing the illegal images be destroyed. Judge Simon James sentenced Pitcairn to 15 months in prison. The judge also commented on the failure of previous interventions, noting that Pitcairn had been subjected to an intensive three-year sexual offenders’ program after his earlier conviction, which apparently did not address the underlying issues that led to his continued possession of child exploitation material.