CHRISTOPHER SMITH IN GLOUCESTER JAILED FOR DISCOVERY OF 93,000 CHILD INDECENT IMAGES
In June 2014, a Gloucester carer was sentenced to 18 months in prison after Canadian police helped uncover his disturbing collection of child pornography.Christopher Smith, aged 57, was found to possess an astonishing 93,000 indecent and forbidden images and videos of children when Gloucestershire Police examined his computer.
Prosecutor Janine Wood told Gloucester Crown Court that Smith, of Southgate Street in Gloucester, had purchased naturist images from a Canadian website he believed to be legal.
However, authorities in the UK identified the activity, leading to a search of his computer on January 24 of that year, which revealed the large stash of illicit material.
The court was informed that nearly 15,000 of these images fell into the most serious category, indicating extreme content.
Defence lawyer Tim Burrows stated that Smith himself had been a victim of abuse as a child, and had managed to keep his sexual fantasies hidden for many years.
Burrows added, “He has always set to distance himself from the opportunity to carry out the fantasies he has harboured since he was a young man.
He even left a residential job when he believed he might cross the line.” Burrows remarked that as a consequence of his arrest, Smith lost his employment immediately and is unlikely to find work in that field again.
Judge Euan Ambrose commented on Smith’s troubling interests, noting that he clearly had a sexual attraction to boys aged 10 to 14.
The judge pointed out that some images and videos showed children being “visibly distressed or humiliated.” He also acknowledged Smith’s efforts to tackle his addiction online to prevent actual abuse.
Addressing Smith directly, the judge said, “The reason that these offences are so serious is that each of these images is a real child being abused.
You are not the physical abuser nor have you arranged it or taken an active part in it, but your interest generates circumstances where people abuse children.” In addition to his imprisonment, Smith was ordered to register as a sex offender and was subjected to a lifelong sexual offence prevention order, which restricts his contact with children.
