GRAHAM WILLARD FROM SANDHURST RECEIVES COMMUNITY ORDER AFTER POSSESSING CHILD ABUSE IMAGES IN READING

In a significant case heard at Reading Crown Court, Graham Willard, a 46-year-old resident of Fakenham Way in Sandhurst, was given a rare opportunity to seek professional help after admitting to possessing indecent images of children. The court proceedings revealed that Willard had been found in possession of a substantial collection of such images, which were stored on both his computer and an old hard drive kept in a cupboard within his private room.

The incident came to light in May 2011 when police officers, conducting a routine check, arrested Willard due to his existing status on the sex offenders’ register. This prior registration was the result of a previous conviction, which added gravity to the current charges. During the hearing, the court was informed that the hard drive contained approximately 130 images, categorized across a spectrum of severity levels. Specifically, there were at least 45 images classified as Level 1, indicating the least serious content, while 85 images were deemed the most severe, falling under Level 5.

Further examination of Willard’s computer revealed an additional 114 images. The majority of these images, around 106, were also at the lower end of the severity scale, but notably, eight images were classified as Level 5, indicating highly serious content. Prosecutor Sandra Beck highlighted Willard’s criminal history, which included a conviction in 1990 for possessing indecent images and a subsequent imprisonment in 2004 for four months following 28 counts of making indecent images. Although there was no evidence of distribution of the images, the court was told that software capable of sharing such images was present on his computer.

Willard’s defense attorney, Nick Cotter, acknowledged his client’s cooperation with law enforcement and his immediate guilty plea. He clarified that the images stored on the old hard drive predated Willard’s 2004 conviction and were not part of that case. Mr. Cotter also emphasized that Willard had never previously received any professional assistance to address his offending behavior. At the time of the arrest, Willard was employed and lived in a relatively secluded environment with his mother and stepfather, which the defense argued contributed to his social isolation.

The court considered a pre-sentence report that recommended a community-based sentence, viewing it as a “golden opportunity” for Willard at his age to access specialized help. Judge Ian Grainger acknowledged the deep-seated and ongoing nature of Willard’s obsession with such images, describing it as a “deep seated and continuing” issue. Consequently, the judge sentenced Willard to a community order for three years, which included supervision, mandatory attendance at a sex offenders’ program, and registration on the sex offenders’ register for five years. Additionally, a sex offenders’ prevention order was imposed, restricting Willard from using any computers except those at his workplace, in an effort to prevent further offending and protect the community.