DAVID SWANTON, FROM DONCASTER, WALKED FREE AFTER COURT DECISION IN AUGUST 2012
In August 2012, David Swanton, aged 59, who was convicted of child abuse offenses, was allowed to walk free from court after a judge concluded that sending him to prison would render him more dangerous.The judge highlighted that the constraints of the sentencing powers prevented him from imposing a longer sentence that could facilitate effective treatment.
Swanton was found with a collection of images and videos on his laptop following police investigations into his online communications with a known paedophile.
During questioning, he discussed abusing teenage girls and fantasized about allowing his imaginary daughters to be raped by others.
Southwark Crown Court heard that police discovered fewer than 500 images and 13 videos on Swanton's computer, many at the highest levels of depravity, including abuse of children aged between three and ten.
Judge Nicolas Lorraine Smith sentenced Swanton to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to attend a sex offender’s rehabilitation program.
The judge explained that since his sentencing powers allowed only short-term imprisonment, he would not have enough time to provide effective treatment.
“If I were to sentence you to 12 months in prison, as you have pleaded guilty, you would be legally entitled to a third off your sentence,” the judge said.
“It would then be eight months, and you would be released in four months, which is a short amount of time.
It would be too short for you to get treatment for addiction — for it is an addiction — and you would emerge from prison, in my view, as potentially dangerous.
This is a problem that judges face again and again in cases of this type.” Prosecutor Usha Shergill stated, “After he had been arrested, he told officers that he was on MSN to connect with paedophiles and discuss child abuse activities.
He would take on a persona of a teenage girl, or claim he had a family with children which he intended to abuse, and allow others to abuse them.” She added that forensic examination of his computer revealed that Swanton had installed cleaning software, which had erased his browsing history and content.
Swanton, of New House Station, Blaxton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, admitted to eight counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing extreme pornography.
He was also prohibited from using a computer, except in a work setting where it could be searched by police, and was banned from owning computer drive cleaning software.
He will be supervised by the probation service for two years and is required to register as a sex offender for ten years.
