WILLIAM SMITH SHREWSBURY CHILD SEX IMAGE OFFENDER ESCAPES JAIL WITH COMMUNITY ORDER
In April 2018, a man from Shrewsbury named William Smith, aged 47 and residing on Brunel Way, was found to possess a vast collection of indecent images depicting children on his computer.Despite the severity of his actions, Smith was not sentenced to prison but was instead given a community order during his appearance at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
Judge Peter Barrie, presiding over the case, emphasized that Smith would benefit more from engaging in a sex offenders programme rather than serving time behind bars.
The judge highlighted that this approach was deemed more appropriate for rehabilitation, considering the circumstances of the case.
William Smith had previously entered a guilty plea to a 10-count indictment, which included multiple charges related to the possession of indecent images of children, as well as charges of perverting the course of justice.
The prosecution, led by Stephen Thomas, pointed out that the case involved aggravating factors such as the large volume of images, the young age of the children depicted, and the fact that Smith initially attempted to shift blame onto his brother by claiming that his sibling had downloaded the images.
Investigations revealed that Smith had downloaded thousands of images, which ranged from Category A, indicating the most serious and disturbing content, to Category C.
Further, he had joined a file-sharing website with the intent to distribute these images to others, thereby increasing the severity of his actions.
Judge Barrie described the conduct as "seriously bad," noting that Smith not only downloaded a significant number of illegal images but also engaged in sharing them through a file-sharing program, an act considered even more serious.
Additionally, the court heard that Smith had deliberately fabricated a diary to falsely implicate his brother, attempting to mislead police and shift responsibility away from himself.
This act of deception was viewed as an aggravating factor in the case.
During the sentencing, Judge Barrie referenced a psychological report which indicated that Smith had learning difficulties bordering on a learning disability.
The judge acknowledged the importance of public safety but also stressed the potential for rehabilitation.
He stated, "There is a strong public interest in punishing you, but there is also a strong public interest in doing everything possible to make sure you don't offend sexually again." As part of his sentence, William Smith was ordered to complete 35 hours of rehabilitation and undertake 200 hours of unpaid work.
The judge expressed the belief that community-based programmes, such as sex offender treatment, offered the best chance for Smith to address his issues and prevent future offending, rather than incarceration.
