CHRISTOPHER TEMPLE DERRY COMPUTER TECHNICIAN CAUGHT WITH CHILD PORN IMAGES IN DERRY

In April 2009, a disturbing case unfolded in Derry involving Christopher John Temple, a 25-year-old computer technician residing in Barnewall Place, Waterside. A District Judge described the actions of Temple as 'truly abhorrent and disgusting' after he admitted to possessing multiple indecent images depicting semi-naked children.

Temple faced nine charges related to the creation of these images, which were identified as 30 separate specimens. The offences spanned a period from November 2004 to October 2005, although the exact dates of each incident remain unspecified. The court heard that Temple had been involved in the creation and possession of these images during this timeframe.

District Judge Barney McElholm expressed his strong condemnation of the crimes, emphasizing that society must universally deplore such conduct. He remarked, 'Every society should deplore crimes of this nature and, indeed, there are many in society who believe only a custodial sentence meets the justice in these cases.' The judge also voiced concerns about the potential for re-offending, noting that while Temple appeared remorseful during the court proceedings, he had shown no remorse during his probation report. McElholm suggested that perhaps the defendant had finally come to his senses, but the risk of future offenses remained a serious consideration.

During the hearing, a defense barrister acknowledged that Temple had come to realize that these were not victimless crimes, recognizing that real children had been abused in the process of creating these images. The prosecution provided details of the police investigation, which had commenced in September 2005. A report from a representative of the North West Centre for Learning and Development in Derry alerted authorities after discovering indecent images on Temple’s work computer.

At the time, Temple was on placement at Red Fox IT, located at Ebrington Terrace in Derry’s Waterside area. Although the images had been deleted from his computer, police forensic analysis managed to recover four of them. Subsequently, in October 2005, police executed a warrant at Temple’s residence, where they seized his computer and recovered an additional 26 images, confirming the extent of his possession.

Following the investigation, Temple appeared before Derry Magistrate’s Court, where he was sentenced to be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for seven years and was given a three-year probation order. The court also imposed restrictions on his use of technology; he was banned from possessing a computer in a domestic setting and from engaging in employment involving computers unless he disclosed his convictions to his employer. Furthermore, Temple was disqualified from working in roles that provided unsupervised access to children and was ordered not to associate with minors under 18 unless approved by social services. These measures aim to prevent any future harm and ensure public safety in the community of Derry.