PORTGLENONE MAN JOHN STEWART CAUGHT LOOKING AT CHILD ABUSE IMAGES IN OPEN-PLAN OFFICE

In April 2016, a serious case unfolded involving John Stewart, a former environmental health chief from Portglenone, who was found to have engaged in disturbing online activity during his time working at Antrim Borough Council. The incident came to light when two women working in the open-plan office noticed Stewart viewing child sexual abuse images on his work computer, prompting them to report his behavior to their supervisor.

Following this report, Stewart was promptly dismissed from his position. An investigation by police revealed that Stewart had been viewing such illicit images over a span of six years, from September 2007 until August 2013. The authorities uncovered a disturbing collection of over 9,000 images depicting child sex abuse, with Stewart facing a total of 39 charges related to these materials. These charges included 21 counts of creating indecent images, 15 counts of possessing such images, and three counts of possessing prohibited images of a child.

During the court proceedings at Antrim Crown Court, Judge Desmond Marrinan emphasized the importance of understanding Stewart’s mental state before sentencing. He ordered that medical reports be obtained to assess whether Stewart’s actions were driven by compulsive urges. The judge expressed concern about the possibility of Stewart facing imprisonment and stated that the court should consider all relevant evidence regarding his psychological condition and family circumstances before reaching a final decision.

Prosecutor George Chisney provided details about the case, revealing that police had recovered images from Stewart’s Dell desktop computer at work, as well as from his personal laptop at home. Stewart, who cooperated fully with law enforcement, also surrendered several computer memory sticks containing downloaded images. It was noted that Stewart had viewed these images up to 19,000 times, indicating a significant level of engagement with the material.

The court was informed that Stewart posed a medium risk of re-offending, with the aggravating factor being his viewing of the illicit images during working hours at his workplace. The case highlighted the disturbing breach of trust and the serious nature of his offenses, which spanned multiple years and involved a large volume of illegal material. Stewart’s sentencing was scheduled for June, and the court awaited the results of the psychological assessments to inform its final judgment.