MARIO DE FROM DIDSBURY ESCAPES JAIL DESPITE GUILTY PLEA TO CHILD RAPE VIDEOS AND SEXUAL OFFENCES

In a case that has shocked the local community of Didsbury, Mario De, a 46-year-old man, was found to be a significant risk to young children due to his possession of highly disturbing and grotesque material involving child abuse. Despite admitting to a series of serious offences, De was handed a relatively lenient sentence in Manchester Crown Court, raising questions about the justice system's handling of such grave crimes.

On the day of sentencing, it was revealed that De had pleaded guilty to 21 counts related to the possession of a total of 691 indecent images and videos. These ranged from level 1, depicting children in the nude, to level 5, which included a harrowing 15-minute video showing a man raping a young girl. The prosecution, led by Rachel Widdecombe, detailed that among the material found on a disk labeled ‘Holiday 2004’ were images taken by De of women in underwear and swimwear, with some pictures clearly outlining the genitals of females, indicating a disturbing sexual interest in young girls.

Judge Mansell, presiding over the case, did not mince words during sentencing. He described De as having an unhealthy sexual interest in minors and emphasized the danger he posed to children. As De sat in the dock, visibly distressed and weeping, he was sentenced to a three-year community order coupled with a three-year supervision requirement. The judge also recommended that De participate in the Northumbria Sex Offender Groupwork Programme, which he characterized as ‘hard and humiliating,’ aiming to address his deviant tendencies.

The court heard that police executed a search warrant at De’s residence on Moorfield Road on October 29, 2011. Officers found him sitting in his underpants at his computer. During the search, they recovered numerous CDs and DVDs, 11 of which contained indecent material produced between 2004 and 2007. Some of these were labeled ‘Porn’ and ‘Pre-teens,’ further underscoring the severity of his offending.

De has a prior conviction for sexually assaulting a 39-year-old female patient at an A&E department while she was waiting for treatment. Although he denies the assault, he previously pleaded guilty to the charge. Judge Mansell highlighted this history, stating that it demonstrated a long-standing pattern of sexually deviant thoughts and behaviors, and reaffirmed that De remains a significant risk to young children.

To protect the public, a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPA) was imposed on De. This order prohibits him from having unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 16 and restricts his access to internet-enabled devices, aiming to prevent further offending. Defense lawyer Michael Goldwater, who is representing De, explained that the Portuguese-born IT helpdesk analyst developed an interest in pornography after discovering Limewire, a file-sharing program, during a turbulent period in his life. Despite these explanations, the court’s decision underscores the seriousness of De’s crimes and the ongoing threat he poses to society.