PAULINE JUDGE IN ABERDEEN AVOIDS JAIL AFTER SHARING CHILD ABUSE IMAGES IN EXCHANGE FOR MOBILE PHONE TOP-UPS
In July 2014, a woman from Aberdeen named Pauline Judge, aged 33, was involved in sharing indecent images of children with online sex offenders in exchange for mobile phone credit.Judge had posed as a teenage girl online to communicate with offenders based in the United States.
She sent these offenders dozens of disturbing images of children she had found on the internet, after they topped up her phone's credit.
Police conducted a raid on her Aberdeen home and recovered 416 illegal images and six videos.
The material included children engaged in erotic poses, as well as children having sex with each other and with adults.
The ages of the children ranged from just six months to 15 years old.
Earlier this year, Judge pleaded guilty to two child pornography charges.
The case was then adjourned to allow for background reports.
On Wednesday, Judge appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where she was sentenced to 240 hours of unpaid community work.
During the hearing, defence lawyer Tony Burgess explained that Judge had experienced a traumatic childhood and suffered from depression.
He stated, “A catalyst to her depression that turned to desperation and loneliness was the death of her father when she was 13 years of age.” He added that Judge was fully accepting of her wrongdoing and was awaiting her punishment.
Mr.
Burgess highlighted that Judge had taken positive steps after the offences and that her family was "extremely supportive" of her.
He also mentioned that Judge had recently moved homes, as she had become the subject of public condemnation.
The court previously learned that police received intelligence last year indicating that Judge had been communicating online with someone in the US about indecent images of children.
When police officers visited her, she was cautioned and admitted that she had sent indecent images in exchange for mobile credit.
Forensic examinations of her seized computer equipment revealed numerous images depicting children being raped and abused, including infants as young as six months up to teenagers aged 15.
While authorities could not determine exactly which images had been sent, they found that the content involved prepubescent girls and that Judge had engaged in online chats pretending to be a young girl.
Evidence also showed that the defendant visited chat rooms focused on conversations involving sex with children and infants.
Judge had previously pled guilty to charges of taking, permitting, or making indecent photographs of children between January 10, 2012, and June 27, 2013, and to distributing or showing such images during the same period.
Sheriff William Summers noted that each image represented a potential victim, but he felt an alternative to prison was appropriate.
He sentenced Judge to perform 240 hours of unpaid community service, sentenced her to a three-year supervision order, and registered her as a sex offender for three years.
