DEBBIE WRIGHT

BLACKBURN MAN HANDED SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR POSSESSING CHILD ABUSE IMAGES

Staff at a pawn shop discovered child pornography when the owner failed to turn up to redeem his phone.

Blackburn Magistrates' Court heard the police were immediately informed, and they arrested Debbie Wright.

Wright, 60, of Burnley Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to possessing 10 Category C images of children, the least serious category of image.

He was sentenced to two months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.

Zulekha Bhuta, prosecuting, said when Wright failed to return to redeem his phone by the agreed date, it was the shop's policy to reset it and offer it for sale.

Before that was done, a member of staff spotted an indecent image of a girl aged about eight and the police were informed.

Miss Bhuta said the discovery of the images pre-dated other offences of possessing indecent images of children for which Wright was sentenced in April.

Wright was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months, on that occasion.

District Judge Keith Allen said the sentence he was imposing would extend the period to which Wright would be subject to a suspended sentence.

He said the sexual harm prevention order imposed in April would remain in place indefinitely as ordered by the sentencing court.

Gareth Price, mitigation, said his client said the images were on a previous device, and when he bought a new phone they were transferred over.

He said that since the sentence was imposed in April, his client had engaged positively with the probation service.