MANCHESTER MAN PASCHAL MCELVENNY FOUND GUILTY OF POSSESSING CHILD INDECENT IMAGES AFTER CREWE CRASH
In a case that has shocked the local community, Paschal William McElvenny, a 51-year-old man from Manchester, was convicted of possessing indecent images of children on his mobile phone following a serious road incident near Crewe.The incident occurred on August 12 of the previous year, when McElvenny was involved in a collision that prompted emergency services to respond to the scene.
During the aftermath of the crash, authorities recovered a mobile device from McElvenny’s vehicle.
The phone was subsequently handed over to Cheshire Police for forensic analysis.
Investigators discovered that the device contained multiple images depicting individuals engaged in sexual acts, which the prosecution argued were of minors under the age of 18.
These findings formed the core of the charges against McElvenny.
At the Chester Crown Court, McElvenny entered a plea of not guilty to 13 counts of possessing indecent photographs of children.
He maintained that although he used the phone, he was unaware of the existence of the illicit images stored on it.
Despite his claims, the jury deliberated extensively and ultimately found him guilty of all thirteen counts.
The verdict was unanimous on most charges, with two counts being passed by a majority following instructions from the presiding judge.
The court heard that at the time of the crash, McElvenny was also in possession of two other mobile phones.
However, these devices did not contain any illegal material.
McElvenny admitted that he had provided police with the PIN code to access the phone but insisted that he had never downloaded or viewed the images.
He explained in his testimony that the phone had been left in his car while he was residing in a hostel, and that multiple individuals had access to his vehicle and used his phone.
McElvenny claimed that these people often inserted their own SIM cards into the device for their personal use.
During police interviews, officers questioned McElvenny about the presence of personal and private photographs in the same gallery as the indecent images.
McElvenny acknowledged that these personal photos, which he said were sent to him or taken with the phone’s camera, were stored alongside the illicit material.
He was asked why he would allow others to use a phone containing such private images, to which he responded that he had nothing to do with the indecent images and had never viewed them.
He reiterated that he had no knowledge of their existence and that the phone’s accessibility by others could have led to their presence.
In cross-examination, McElvenny’s barrister, Ravi Sidhu, confirmed that he had given the PIN code to other individuals and that multiple users had inserted their own SIM cards into the device.
The court was also informed that McElvenny had a prior conviction from 2012 for sexual assault against a child.
However, Judge Nicholas Woodward cautioned the jury not to let this previous conviction influence their judgment and emphasized that their verdict should be based solely on the evidence presented during the trial.
Following the guilty verdict, the court adjourned sentencing to allow for a pre-sentence report to be prepared by the probation service.
Additionally, McElvenny had earlier pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in relation to the same incident.
He is scheduled to be sentenced for both charges on December 1, 2017, and remains in custody until that date.
