2005: MAN JAILED FOR INDECENT ASSAULTS ON GIRL
Frederick Edginton, a 50-year-old man from Kidderminster and a binman by occupation, has been sentenced to four and a half years after being found guilty of possessing over 3,000 pornographic images and assaulting a young girl sexually.Judge David Matthews ordered that Edginton should never be employed in situations involving children and must be monitored by probation services once he has served at least half of his prison term.
The defendant, resident of Willowfield Drive, was convicted at Hereford Crown Court last month following a trial in which he was convicted of seven counts of indecent assault against a girl aged between 10 and 12.
The judge highlighted that Edginton’s abuse was motivated by his own sexual needs, detailing an incident where he tied the girl to a bed while she was without clothing.
Evidence presented included a visual examination of images on a police computer, showing that more than 80% of the material depicted young girls.
The judge remarked that the images displayed a disturbing fascination with female children.
Prosecutor Abigail Nixon explained that police raided Edginton’s home after receiving a tip-off, discovering 3,103 downloaded images from the internet.
Edginton admitted to browsing the internet for nearly three years but claimed he had not deliberately subscribed to any porn sites.
He explained that some images would appear unexpectedly, which he viewed out of curiosity, claiming they did not excite him.
Defense attorney Roderick Henderson pointed out that Edginton did not have any role in sharing the images and possessed only a limited number of less serious images.
The lawyer also noted a clean criminal record, honesty with police, and that Edginton did not pay for the material, indicating he was not involved in the distribution network supporting child exploitation.
