Probation for man caught with 10,000 images of kids

Probation for man caught with 10,000 images of kids

11 July 2012

A CARRYDUFF man who admitted possessing over 10,000 indecent images of children has been put on probation for three years.

John Eyre (59), of Baronscourt Mews, was sentenced on 20 counts of possessing the indecent photos between November 2006 and August 2009 at Downpatrick Crown Court.

Prosecutor David McDowell said there was some dispute over the exact number of images found but said it was clear there was a “large amount” downloaded from the internet on to Eyre’s home computer.

A scrapbook with offensive images was also uncovered.

Mr. McDowell said the indecent photos of children aged between four and their late teens were Category One images, meaning they were considered to be the least serious of these types of images.

The prosecutor went on to say that Eyre had a “fascination” with one of the teenage girls who appeared in many of the images.

“She is undoubtedly abused,” he told the court.

Defence barrister Richard McConkey said there had been no taking or distributing of the the images and that the majority of the material found had been of an adult pornographic nature.

Mr. McConkey added that Eyre, who had no record, spent long periods in the home with his elderly parents in a “solitary existence”, and had collected a large amount of inoffensive material about celebrities over the years.

Judge David Smyth QC said Eyre would have to sign up to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, have his computer use monitored in the future and be banned from owning a mobile phone with internet access.

He said probation, instead of jail, was, however, the best way of sentencing the defendant.

“It is my view that it is not in the public interest to send you to prison for a short period of time,” he said.