MICHAEL WINES CAUGHT WITH CHILD PORN IN SWINDON AND BICESTER

In July 1998, a disturbing case emerged involving Michael Wines, a television repair technician who was found to have downloaded and possessed child pornography via the Internet. Wines, aged 41, who previously resided at Ravenscroft, Langley Village, Bicester, and at the time of his arrest was living on Graham Street in Swindon, faced serious charges after authorities uncovered illicit material on his computer.

Wines admitted to the court that he had downloaded six indecent images depicting children, which included pseudo-photographs of minors. The investigation was initiated when officers from Bicester CID executed a search warrant at his home on April 30 of the previous year. During the raid, they confiscated his computer equipment for forensic analysis.

Although the court proceedings did not explicitly detail the extent of the material found, sources within Bicester CID revealed to the Oxford Mail that over 150 images of children, ranging in age from as young as six to 14 years old, were recovered from Wines' computer system. These images were stored on a secondary hard disk, which was turned off at the time of the raid, making its presence less obvious to an untrained eye.

At Bicester Magistrates Court, Wines pleaded guilty to six charges related to possessing indecent images of children. Prosecutor Bill White explained that the police, assisted by a computer expert, examined the contents of the hard disk and found the illicit material. He stated, “The computer contained a second hard disk. It contained child pornographic material. The second hard disk was turned off and would not have been apparent to someone who was unaware of its existence.”

Evidence presented in court included printed copies of the files and records of the websites visited. The magistrates were shown six images from Wines’ computer, which he reacted to by shaking his head and averting his gaze. Wines claimed that the images had been downloaded by his lodger, although no evidence of this individual was ever located. The prosecution noted that the images were downloaded with Wines’ consent.

During the hearing, Wines’ defense lawyer, James Cox, requested that the case be adjourned to allow for pre-sentence reports to be prepared. Cox questioned the rationale behind a man over 40 becoming involved in such activities, raising concerns about the circumstances that led Wines to commit these acts. The case remains a serious reminder of the ongoing issues surrounding online child exploitation and the importance of vigilant law enforcement efforts in tackling such crimes.