JOHN BROWN FROM WHISTON SENTENCED FOR CHILD ABUSE IN LIVERPOOL COURT

In May 2008, a heartbreaking case unfolded involving a 67-year-old man named John Brown from Whiston, who was sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of a disturbing campaign of child abuse. The victim, an eight-year-old girl, endured over a year of abuse at the hands of Brown, a man who was once considered a family friend. Her family has since spoken out, revealing the profound pain and trauma they have suffered since discovering the horrifying details of Brown’s actions.

According to the family, the ordeal has been a source of relentless anguish. The young girl’s father, speaking exclusively to the Daily Post, expressed a mixture of hope and despair. He stated, “Hopefully we’ll be able to draw a line under it now but it will still be hard. And how it will affect my daughter later in life is impossible to guess.” The family’s pain was compounded by the fact that the abuse only came to light after the girl’s father grew suspicious of Brown’s behavior and questioned his daughter about her interactions with him.

Following these suspicions, authorities conducted a search of Brown’s residence on Cross Lane, Whiston. During the search, officers uncovered a disturbing collection of indecent images on Brown’s computer. The images included 13 indecent photographs of children, eight of which were classified as the most serious category. Brown, who suffers from a heart condition and a back injury, was also found to have a stash of indecent pictures stored on his device, further implicating him in the possession of child exploitation material.

Judge Bryn Holloway, presiding over the case at Liverpool Crown Court, sentenced Brown to four years in prison. In his remarks, the judge condemned Brown’s actions, describing them as revealing “an unhealthy and quite unacceptable interest in young children performing sexual poses that are frankly disgusting.” He emphasized the severity of the crimes, stating, “These are children who are subjected to threats of violence and most unpleasant experiences that they have to undergo in order to satisfy the lust of people like you. If it wasn’t for people like you that access these sites and pay for them, the need for children to be so badly abused would not be there.”

Initially, Brown faced multiple charges, including five counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity between October 1, 2005, and October 20, 2006, along with 14 charges related to making and possessing indecent images. On the day his trial was scheduled to commence, Brown altered some of his pleas, admitting to the charges concerning the images. However, he continued to deny the child abuse allegations, leading to a trial that required the young victim to give evidence in court.

Following the conviction of all charges by the jury, the victim’s father expressed his disgust and heartbreak. He said, “Now I’ve got to try and make sure her life returns to normal. She’s still very young and when she gets into the age when she wants a relationship, how is that going to affect her? It’s almost impossible for us as parents. Whoever she’s with now, we cannot trust. My whole worldview has been altered.”

The emotional toll on the family has been immense, with the father revealing that the strain has led to arguments within the household and made his job increasingly difficult to maintain. He described their experience as “hell” and emphasized the ongoing denial from Brown and his family, who continue to assert his innocence. This denial was evident during the court proceedings, where Brown’s defense attorney, Earl Pinnock, stated that Brown’s family maintained his innocence. Judge Holloway responded firmly, saying, “You are still in denial, your family are in denial. They have to realize a jury has convicted you quite appropriately from overwhelming evidence of these offences.”