DARLINGTON PERVERT JAILED FOR DOWNLOADING NEARLY 2,000 CHILD ABUSE IMAGES
A pervert who claimed he downloaded almost 2,000 indecent images of children to investigate the source of the child abuse has been jailed.The 37-year-old Stewart Duffey started downloading the sickening images in June 2010 and his vile collection was only discovered in January last year when police seized a number of digital devices.
The court heard how Duffey remained adamant that he was downloading the images for investigative purposes throughout the 12 years.
Prosecutor Jenny Haigh stated that police recovered 1,713 still and moving images of children being sexually abused as young as one-year-old.
Officers seized a mobile phone, computer tower unit, USB memory stick, and DVDs for analysis, but Duffey refused to cooperate about the passwords to two other mobile phones.
Duffey pleaded guilty to possessing 383 Category A indecent images, 466 Category B images, 864 Category C images, and failing to disclose the passcodes for the other devices.
His mitigating lawyer, Emma Williams, claimed her client believed he only downloaded the images to track down and report abusers and expressed remorse, attributing his actions to alcohol problems.
Recorder Aisha Wadoodi sentenced Duffey to 18 months in custody, emphasizing the lengthy timeframe of 12 years and the distress caused to young victims depicted in the images.
Duffey was also subjected to a ten-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for the same period.
