January 2015 Man who downloaded indecent images of children given suspended sentence A man who downloaded indecent images of children on his computer has been given a suspended jail sentence. Julian Smith accessed almost 200 illegal pictures and movie clips via the internet, between October and November last year. Leicester Crown Court was told that when the police called at his home in Great Bowden Road, Market Harborough, where he admitted the offences He pleaded guilty to 12 counts of possessing child abuse images, relating to young girls, some engaging in sexual activity. Smith was given a 12 month jail sentence, suspended for two years, with supervision. He was also ordered to attend a rehabilitation programme and will have to sign on to a sex offender register for 10 years. Victoria Rose, prosecuting, said the images were recovered from his home computer relating to 27 images in category A, the most serious level. There were 54 indecent images in category B and 116 in category C, the least serious bracket. Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Dean QC said: “You’re 42 and have no previous convictions, but you have admitted possessing indecent, still and moving, images of young girls. “You acknowledge the seriousness of what you’ve done. “It’s wrong to think the mere possession of such images is a victimless crime. “Someone somewhere is exploiting children to obtain those images you downloaded and that’s what makes it extremely serious. “The sentencing council guidelines say where there’s a significant prospect of rehabilitation, a community order or suspended sentence can be a proper alternative to immediate imprisonment. “The author of your pre-sentence report concludes that a programme of rehabilitation would be productive and useful in your case, and you’ve expressed a willingness to undergo that.” Miss Rose told the court: “Smith said, in interview, he was aware it was illegal having looked into the legislation himself. “There’s no evidence to suggest he was sharing the images with anyone else.” Michael Garvey, mitigating, said: “He accepts full responsibility for his actions and he knows what he’s done. “He has a history of being bullied when he was younger.” Smith’s computer equipment was confiscated by the court. He was also placed on a sex offenders’ prevention order for 10 years, enabling the authorities to monitor his future computer use.