DAVID GORE IN RUNCORN SPARED JAIL AS JUDGE CRITICIZES SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT DELAY
In September 2017, a 60-year-old man from Runcorn, David Gore of Conwy Court, Castlefields, was spared immediate jail time after admitting to possessing and creating indecent images involving children.Gore pleaded guilty to three charges concerning eight images, with seven classified as the lowest category depicting boys and girls under 14, and one in the most severe Category A, involving a video of a girl aged between 10 and 13.
The court was told Gore’s computer hard drive also contained fragments of older images.
Prosecutor Jo Maxwell explained that police seized Gore’s computer tower, laptop, and phone in September 2016 during an investigation that initially lacked sufficient evidence and was undermined by credibility issues with the complainant.
Gore’s phone included ‘sexual discussions’ with an individual known as ‘Chuff44,’ and he had shared two pictures of a young child.
Although he initially denied possessing any illegal images, Gore later pleaded guilty.
Police found no prior convictions for him.
Judge Patrick Thompson expressed his surprise and concern that offenders like Gore were not considered serious enough to enroll in a sexual offenders treatment program.
He noted that research indicates little difference in re-offending rates between those who complete such programs and those who do not.
Gore was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to comply with a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a 35-day rehabilitation program aimed at addressing his behavior.
Additionally, he was placed on the sex offender register and ordered to pay £535 in costs, payable at £50 monthly.
The judge highlighted that no intervention to tackle Gore’s offending behavior would occur if he served an actual prison sentence, estimating he would be released in six months.
Concluding his remarks, Judge Thompson said, “I’m afraid this court is sick and tired of having to deal with men like you who access disgusting material involving the abuse of children, and as you have done in the pre-sentence report minimised their involvement – ‘it just popped up when they were accessing pornography, they don’t have a sexual interest in children’.”
