ROBERT HUMPHERSON, CHOIR LEADER IN COVENTRY, GUILTY OF POSSESSING INDECENT IMAGES OF CHILDREN

In May 2014, a choir leader at a Coventry city centre church was found guilty of possessing indecent images of children, some as young as two years old. Police raided the residence of 56-year-old Robert Humpherson last April, uncovering hundreds of such images stored on a laptop and an external device.

During police questioning, Humpherson admitted to viewing the images but claimed he had not stored them on his computer. He pleaded guilty to 12 counts of possessing indecent images of children and was sentenced last week at the Crown Court in Leamington.

The court was informed that Humpherson, who resides on Kilnsey Grove in Warwick, previously served as a church council member and choir leader at Holy Trinity Church in Coventry’s Priory Row. He has not returned to the church in over a year.

Prosecutor Blondel Thompson stated that police had discovered a total of 2,655 images. Among these, six were classified as level five — the most severe category — and 248 were level four.

Miss Thompson explained, “He expressed remorse during police interview. He told officers he had been experiencing difficulties in his family life.” She added that Humpherson acknowledged accessing approximately 30 images weekly and claimed to be surprised there were images at levels four and five.

The court also heard Humpherson had admitted to searching online for the phrase “pre-teen hardcore.” In his police interview, he discussed his role as a choir leader, saying, “He talked about how he was trying to encourage the young people to harmonise in the choir.”

Defense attorney Matthew Brook noted that Humpherson had admitted to frequent internet surfing for indecent images of children for some time. He stated, “He was a man working in IT and could have installed forensic software to erase the material completely, so the police wouldn’t find it,” but that Humpherson chose not to do so.

Mr. Brook explained, “He acknowledged that he knew the images depicted young children being abused. He recognizes his actions contribute to that abuse and wishes to express his remorse through me.” Since his arrest, Humpherson voluntarily sought help from a child protection charity and engaged with a psychotherapist.

Judge Sylvia de Bertodano remarked that Humpherson had taken meaningful steps to address his offending. “These are very serious offences — I know you understand that,” she said. “The images are produced for a market, and that market is viewers like you.”

Considering that Humpherson has family support, the judge decided against prison time, sentencing him to a 16-month jail term, suspended for two years. He will be under supervision for two years, required to attend a community sex offenders group program, and will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order for 10 years.

A representative from the Diocese of Coventry stated, “We always take allegations against church members seriously and work closely with the police during investigations and legal proceedings. Church members will likely be surprised and saddened by this news. We pray for all victims of abuse and for everyone affected by this heartbreaking case.”