COLIN GANDER EAST GRINSTEAD SEX OFFENDER ESCAPES JAIL AFTER RECEIVING SENTENCE FOR SICKENING IMAGES

In March 2012, a sex offender from East Grinstead, Colin Gander, was spared imprisonment after admitting to possessing disturbing images. Gander, who resides on Dorset Gardens, appeared at Hove Crown Court for sentencing following an earlier guilty plea to possession of 15 extreme pornographic images, three of which involved children.

The 58-year-old former surveyor received a sentence of 20 weeks' imprisonment for each of the charges, to run concurrently, but the sentences were suspended for two years. Additionally, Gander was issued a seven-year sexual offences prevention order that restricts his access to computers.

It was noted that Gander had previously faced legal action for similar offences in October 2000, when he received a police caution and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

His latest arrest in March of the previous year led to charges in December, which included nine images depicting extreme pornography involving animals, three images likely to cause serious injury, and three charges related to downloading numerous indecent photographs of children.

The investigation, conducted by Sussex Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT), was prompted by intelligence indicating Gander was viewing indecent images of children on a specific online platform. It was confirmed that none of the offences involved physical contact with children; all images were digital and shared via the internet, with none of the images depicting local minors.

Detective Inspector Jez Prior of Sussex Police stated, 'We must never forget that children are being assaulted so that these images can be produced and distributed via the web for the sexual gratification of paedophiles. This case was particularly concerning as Gander was already a registered sex offender, having previously received a police caution for similar offences. Trying to put a stop to this evil trade is a huge task but our POLIT officers, working with colleagues in law enforcement across the world and with public support, continue to develop their techniques aimed at identifying offenders and bring them to justice as we have in this case.'