SHERSTON MAN MARTIN WAITE CAUGHT IN CHILD PORN SCANDAL IN CHIPPENHAM

In March 2010, a disturbing case emerged involving Martin Waite, a resident of Sherston, who found himself at the center of a criminal investigation related to child sexual abuse images. Waite, aged 35 and living on Green Lane in Sherston, faced serious charges after authorities uncovered his involvement with indecent images of children, leading to a significant legal outcome.

Waite pleaded guilty to seven counts of creating indecent images of children and one count of possessing a total of 657 such photographs. The charges came after police arrested him on May 6 of the previous year, although the initial investigation was unrelated to the images. His Dell computer was confiscated and subjected to detailed forensic analysis, which revealed the presence of both level one and level two indecent images stored temporarily in internet files. These images depicted naked or partially clothed pre-teen girls aged between seven and eleven years old.

Child pornography images are classified into five levels, with level one being the least severe. The forensic examination also uncovered that Waite had conducted internet searches using terms such as “young girls,” “child porn,” “young porn,” and “young models,” indicating a deliberate interest in such material.

During the court hearing at Chippenham magistrates court, Liz Gwinnell, representing Waite, expressed remorse on his behalf. She stated that Waite, who is a father to a young daughter, was deeply sorry for his actions. Gwinnell described his behavior as “extremely stupid” and acknowledged that although he initially searched for adult images, he had gone further into illegal content.

She requested the magistrates to consider Waite’s previous good character, noting that his past convictions for public order offenses and criminal damage dated back to 1997 and were unrelated to the current charges. Gwinnell also highlighted that Waite had lost his employment due to the case’s publicity, choosing to resign to prevent further impact on his business. Currently unemployed, Waite’s situation was further discussed in the pre-sentence report.

Following the hearing, the magistrates imposed a two-year supervision order on Waite. They also mandated that he participate in an internet sex offenders’ program and ordered him to pay £85 in prosecution costs. Additionally, Waite was placed on the sex offenders register for the next five years, ensuring ongoing monitoring of his activities related to sexual offenses involving minors.