DANIEL DOWDON FROM RAMSGATE SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES AND ILLEGAL IMAGE DOWNLOADS
| Red Rose Database
Ramsgate Sexual Abuser
In February 2013, a disturbing case emerged involving Daniel Dowdon, a computer engineer based in Ramsgate, who was found to have engaged in highly illegal and morally reprehensible activities involving child exploitation images. Dowdon, a father of four, had previously concealed his criminal past when applying for a position at Coastal Data Systems, a company located in Ramsgate that specialized in data management and also carried out unsupervised work at local schools.
During his job application, Dowdon was asked to disclose any prior convictions. He truthfully reported a conviction for a public order offence but failed to reveal a more serious criminal record. In reality, he was a convicted child sex offender who had served time in prison for attempting to recruit a 12-year-old girl over the internet. Despite this, he was later promoted within the company and was provided with a company laptop to perform his duties.
It was only when a company IT specialist remotely accessed Dowdon’s work laptop that the full extent of his illegal activities was uncovered. The specialist discovered a cache of over 7,500 images, some of which depicted children as young as two years old, engaged in sexual acts. The images were classified at the most severe level five, indicating extreme content.
Dowdon’s secret was exposed when the IT technician found the disturbing collection, leading to his arrest and subsequent charges. He admitted to nine offences, including downloading and distributing illegal images, possessing extreme pornographic material, breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO), and committing fraud. As a result, he was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.
Prosecutor Jim Harvey provided background details, revealing that Dowdon’s criminal activity dated back to 2009, when he was convicted of similar offences involving illegal images of children. At that time, he was subjected to an indefinite SOPO that prohibited him from using internet-enabled devices unless for work purposes. Harvey explained that in 2009, Dowdon was employed by European Interior Technologies in Dartford, where authorities discovered images on his computer, most of which involved victims aged between five and twelve.
Harvey further stated that during a covert police investigation, Dowdon expressed a desire in a chatroom to meet and abuse a 12-year-old girl. Despite being questioned by police, he continued to download more illegal images and was sentenced to seven months in jail. After his release, Dowdon moved to Ash and, in July 2009, successfully applied for a data engineer role at Coastal Data Systems in Ramsgate. His application falsely claimed he had a conviction for disorderly conduct in April 2008, omitting his actual convictions related to child exploitation.
It was made clear by the company’s managing director that had Dowdon disclosed his true criminal history, he would not have been employed, especially given the nature of the work which involved attending schools and handling sensitive data without supervision. Although there was no evidence that Dowdon had actually visited any schools, he was promoted in April of the previous year and given a company laptop. The discovery of the illegal images by IT support led to his arrest and police investigation.
During police interviews, Dowdon admitted to accessing internet chatrooms for 14 months, where he exchanged and sought out images of children. His defense lawyer, Phil Rowley, acknowledged that unlike his previous conviction, Dowdon now recognized his attraction to children and had sought help for his issues. Rowley emphasized that Dowdon accepted the abhorrent nature of his behavior and that the court’s primary role was to impose appropriate punishment.
Judge Recorder Bobbie Cheema QC expressed profound disapproval of Dowdon’s actions, noting that he had quickly resumed downloading disturbing images after receiving his promotion and new laptop. The judge remarked on the difficulty many would have in understanding how a father of four could derive any pleasure from viewing images of child abuse, especially given Dowdon’s admitted habit of doing so.
As part of his sentence, Dowdon will be subject to a two-year supervision order, which includes mandatory treatment for his child sex addiction, aiming to address the underlying issues that led to his criminal behavior and prevent future offenses.
During his job application, Dowdon was asked to disclose any prior convictions. He truthfully reported a conviction for a public order offence but failed to reveal a more serious criminal record. In reality, he was a convicted child sex offender who had served time in prison for attempting to recruit a 12-year-old girl over the internet. Despite this, he was later promoted within the company and was provided with a company laptop to perform his duties.
It was only when a company IT specialist remotely accessed Dowdon’s work laptop that the full extent of his illegal activities was uncovered. The specialist discovered a cache of over 7,500 images, some of which depicted children as young as two years old, engaged in sexual acts. The images were classified at the most severe level five, indicating extreme content.
Dowdon’s secret was exposed when the IT technician found the disturbing collection, leading to his arrest and subsequent charges. He admitted to nine offences, including downloading and distributing illegal images, possessing extreme pornographic material, breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO), and committing fraud. As a result, he was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.
Prosecutor Jim Harvey provided background details, revealing that Dowdon’s criminal activity dated back to 2009, when he was convicted of similar offences involving illegal images of children. At that time, he was subjected to an indefinite SOPO that prohibited him from using internet-enabled devices unless for work purposes. Harvey explained that in 2009, Dowdon was employed by European Interior Technologies in Dartford, where authorities discovered images on his computer, most of which involved victims aged between five and twelve.
Harvey further stated that during a covert police investigation, Dowdon expressed a desire in a chatroom to meet and abuse a 12-year-old girl. Despite being questioned by police, he continued to download more illegal images and was sentenced to seven months in jail. After his release, Dowdon moved to Ash and, in July 2009, successfully applied for a data engineer role at Coastal Data Systems in Ramsgate. His application falsely claimed he had a conviction for disorderly conduct in April 2008, omitting his actual convictions related to child exploitation.
It was made clear by the company’s managing director that had Dowdon disclosed his true criminal history, he would not have been employed, especially given the nature of the work which involved attending schools and handling sensitive data without supervision. Although there was no evidence that Dowdon had actually visited any schools, he was promoted in April of the previous year and given a company laptop. The discovery of the illegal images by IT support led to his arrest and police investigation.
During police interviews, Dowdon admitted to accessing internet chatrooms for 14 months, where he exchanged and sought out images of children. His defense lawyer, Phil Rowley, acknowledged that unlike his previous conviction, Dowdon now recognized his attraction to children and had sought help for his issues. Rowley emphasized that Dowdon accepted the abhorrent nature of his behavior and that the court’s primary role was to impose appropriate punishment.
Judge Recorder Bobbie Cheema QC expressed profound disapproval of Dowdon’s actions, noting that he had quickly resumed downloading disturbing images after receiving his promotion and new laptop. The judge remarked on the difficulty many would have in understanding how a father of four could derive any pleasure from viewing images of child abuse, especially given Dowdon’s admitted habit of doing so.
As part of his sentence, Dowdon will be subject to a two-year supervision order, which includes mandatory treatment for his child sex addiction, aiming to address the underlying issues that led to his criminal behavior and prevent future offenses.