IAIN BLAKE FROM CRAWLEY ESCAPES PRISON FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGE DOWNLOAD DESPITE PAST SEX ATTACK

In a case that has once again brought attention to the ongoing issue of online child exploitation, Iain Blake, a resident of Crawley, was spared immediate imprisonment after admitting to downloading indecent images of children. The court proceedings took place at Crawley Magistrates' Court last Wednesday, where Blake faced charges related to the possession of such illicit material.

Blake, who resides on Hastings Road in Pound Hill, pleaded guilty to making nine indecent photographs of children. It is important to clarify that the term "making" in this context refers to the act of downloading these images onto his device, not capturing them himself. The images in question depicted children aged between 6 and 14, exposing parts of their genitals, but did not involve any sexual activity or penetration.

The court was informed that Blake accessed these images via a USB dongle, which had been provided to him by a former colleague. The police discovered the photographs on May 3, 2013, during a search of Blake’s home computer. The investigation was initiated as part of the conditions of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) that had been previously imposed on Blake due to a prior conviction.

Prosecutor Melanie Wotton explained that the police found nine images of an indecent nature on Blake’s computer. She described the images as low-level, involving young individuals exposing their genitals, but emphasized that there was no evidence of sexual activity or penetration. The SOPO was originally put in place after Blake was sentenced to 18 months in prison in October 2008 for a sexual assault on a vulnerable woman.

During that earlier incident, Blake targeted a woman who was alone in her room at a care home. He forcibly entered the building by locking out a colleague, then carried out a sexual act on the woman, who was blind and had profound learning difficulties. A colleague eventually gained access and caught Blake in the act. At that time, Blake was also serving as a part-time soldier with the Territorial Army.

The judge, in sentencing Blake for the recent offence, ordered the continuation of the SOPO, which restricts Blake’s employment opportunities and requires police to maintain contact with him. It also prevents him from working in roles where he would be alone with vulnerable women.

Blake admitted to downloading the images but claimed he did so unwittingly. His defense lawyer, Jill Joyce, argued that Blake had immediately attempted to delete the images once he became aware of their presence. She explained that Blake had been given a computer in April 2013, and after police requested to examine its contents, he cooperated fully. Joyce also noted that Blake had previously been given a memory stick while working at Poundland, from which the images appeared to have been downloaded, and that he had made no effort to share or distribute the photographs.

Prior to sentencing, the case was adjourned to allow mental health experts to assess Blake’s fitness to serve a custodial sentence. While the magistrates considered the offence serious enough to warrant imprisonment, they ultimately decided to suspend the sentence. Blake was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. Additionally, he will be monitored via an electronic tag for six months, with a curfew in place from 8 pm to 5 am at his home address.