ANDREW LOMAX SHOCKS PORTSMOUTH WITH CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES ON OIL PLATFORM

In December 2011, a disturbing case emerged involving Royal Navy sailor Andrew Lomax, who narrowly avoided imprisonment after admitting to possessing and downloading indecent images of minors. The incident took place while Lomax was stationed in the Persian Gulf, serving as part of a joint US-UK maritime protection force aboard the oil platform Al-Basrah. The court martial proceedings, held at Portsmouth Naval Base, revealed that Lomax, aged 31 at the time, had downloaded a total of 865 illicit images onto various devices, including his laptop, mobile phone, and portable hard drive.

These images predominantly depicted boys aged between 12 and 15 years old. Among these, two fell into the most severe category of abuse, while an additional 138 were classified as being in the second most serious category. The court heard that the illegal activity was detected when US authorities, monitoring internet activity aboard the platform, identified Lomax’s use of the internet for such purposes. Investigators from the United States subsequently visited the oil platform to gather evidence, leading to Lomax’s admission of responsibility.

Prosecutor Lieutenant Commander David Goddard detailed that Lomax had used specific search terms such as “boys,” “puberty,” and “paedophile” on the file-sharing website Limewire. He also accessed material from a site called “Nudist John.” The prosecution highlighted that Lomax’s initial curiosity had escalated into a serious criminal behavior. Lieutenant Commander Goddard stated, “It had started out as a curiosity, then it had built up,” and added that Lomax expressed a wish that he could take a pill to eliminate his interest in young boys.

Defense counsel Lieutenant Commander Kara Chadwick provided context for Lomax’s actions, revealing that his interest in child pornography was linked to his ongoing grief following the death of his mother from cancer in February 2010. She explained that his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, which went into remission but returned in 2008, with her health deteriorating significantly by Christmas 2009. Lomax had taken responsibility for arranging her funeral and was struggling emotionally during this period. Chadwick described Lomax’s downloading of illicit images as a form of escapism, a way to revisit a happier time in his adolescence when he first experienced sexual activity at around 13 or 14 years old.

Further emotional strain was added by the death of Lomax’s grandfather in July 2010. The defense also noted that Lomax, who is openly gay and in a committed relationship, had sought counseling following his arrest and subsequent admission of guilt in November 2010. Despite the serious nature of his offenses, the court was informed that the Royal Navy had implemented security measures, including firewalls, to prevent sailors from accessing such material. However, Lomax had used software to bypass these restrictions.

Judge Advocate Robert Hill emphasized that Lomax’s offending was influenced by the isolating environment of the oil rig. As a result, Lomax was sentenced to a community order involving a three-year sexual offender management program and 120 hours of unpaid work. Additionally, he was dismissed from the Royal Navy, barred from working with children, and required to register as a sex offender. The court also mandated that any personal computer used outside of work over the next five years must be fitted with software that records internet browsing history for police inspection.

Judge Hill explained that the decision to impose a community order rather than custody was based on the belief that this approach offered the best opportunity for Lomax to address his issues and prevent further escalation. He clarified that the case was not about Lomax’s sexual orientation but about the severity of his criminal conduct, which was not motivated by nostalgia but by serious criminal intent.