MICHAEL MERRON FROM HAWKENBURY SENTENCED IN SEVENOAKS FOR CHILD INDECENCY OFFENSES

In November 2010, a resident of Hawkenbury, and an amateur children's author, Michael Merron, was convicted of possessing and manipulating child abuse images. One concerned neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, criticized Merron’s sentence, stating it "doesn’t mean a thing." The neighbour expressed fears for her own children’s safety, saying, "I think Merron’s crimes have been minimized. It’s really worrying."

Merron, aged 65 and residing on Halls Hole Road, was found guilty after a trial earlier that month. The charges involved taking still images from an amateur video featuring a girl under ten years old and altering them to appear as if she was not wearing underwear.

At Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on that Friday, Merron received an 18-month supervision order and a curfew from 7 pm to 5 am for two weeks. The neighbour expressed outrage, saying, "The sentence doesn’t really punish him. After those two weeks, he can do pretty much anything. It’s disgusting."

She added, "The punishment has been minimized; it seems the guidelines are protecting him more than punishing him."

District Judge Somjee, who usually presides over London courts, had initially wanted Merron to carry out hundreds of hours of unpaid community service, considering his history of two heart attacks. However, the Probation Service warned that such a sentence would not be feasible in Kent. Merron was also unable to be required to attend a sex offenders' course because he denied being sexually aroused by the images.

Police searching Merron’s home uncovered additional evidence—a still image of another young child, naked from the waist down, taken from an amateur family video meant for burning onto a DVD for Christmas. Merron was convicted of creating two indecent pseudo-photographs and 12 indecent images of a child, with the offences occurring on or before March 20, 2010.

Defence lawyer Elizabeth Hartness argued for a conditional or absolute discharge, but Judge Somjee strongly opposed this, stating, "You are being completely unrealistic. If it weren’t for his age and health, I would have seriously considered imprisonment."

Merron, who wore glasses and was dressed in a navy blue suit and white shirt during the hearing, was also ordered to pay £200 in costs and required to register with police for five years.