GRAHAM ELLIOTT FROM GILESGATE SENTENCED FOR CHILD INDECENCY IMAGES IN DURHAM

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Durham community, Graham Geoffrey Elliott, a 64-year-old resident of Gilesgate, was found guilty of possessing and creating indecent images of children. The incident came to light after police executed a search at his home on July 23 of the previous year, uncovering a troubling collection of illicit material stored on his computer equipment.

Durham Crown Court was informed that forensic analysis of Elliott’s devices revealed that over the course of two months prior to the police raid, he had deliberately erased a total of 311 indecent images of children from his hard drive and a memory stick. Despite these efforts to delete the material, investigators discovered that other explicit, computer-generated images depicting children remained on his system, raising further concerns about his activities.

During police interviews, Elliott claimed that the images he had accessed were part of research for a book he was writing titled "Porn – Whether an Addiction or a Habit." However, prosecutor Joanne Kidd pointed out that Elliott failed to disclose this context during his initial interview, which cast doubt on his explanation.

Graham Elliott, who resides at Booths Bungalows, admitted to 11 counts of making indecent images of children and two counts of possessing such images. His criminal history includes a previous conviction from 1984 for the attempted rape of a 16-year-old female hitchhiker, for which he served a 30-month prison sentence. This prior conviction was also brought into consideration during sentencing.

Defence lawyer Anthony Moore argued that both the earlier offence and the recent offences occurred during a period of significant stress and depression in Elliott’s life. He emphasized that Elliott believed he had successfully deleted all illicit images, stating, "He believed all the images had been deleted. Had he not been haphazard in arranging his computer, the two live computer-generated images would also have been deleted."

In delivering the sentence, Recorder Simon Phillips imposed an eight-month prison term, suspended for two years. As part of his sentence, Elliott will undergo a sex offender treatment programme and is subject to a sexual offences prevention order that will remain in place indefinitely. Additionally, he is required to register as a sex offender for the next ten years. The court also ordered that Elliott’s computer equipment be confiscated and destroyed to prevent further misuse.

This case highlights ongoing concerns about the possession and distribution of child exploitation material, and the court’s decision underscores the seriousness with which such offences are treated in the Durham area.