IAN RIMMER

IAN RIMMER FROM LLANSELLI LOSES APPEAL IN SWANSEA OVER CHILD SEX OFFENCE

In October 2012, Ian William Rimmer, aged 59, from Llanelli, had his appeal rejected after being convicted of downloading images of child sexual abuse.

Rimmer was sentenced to four years in prison at Swansea Crown Court in June 2010 following his conviction on five counts of making indecent images of children.

The case was brought to light after a police raid in May 2009, during which officers observed him frantically trying to conceal his laptop and memory stick, devices that contained the offending images.

Lord Justice Moses commented on the raid, stating, "Small wonder he was trying to hide them, because at the time of the raid he had only been out of prison for just over a month for a similar offence." Rimmer had previously received a 15-month sentence for that earlier offence.

The court further learned that Rimmer was so addicted to viewing such images that, despite his substantial previous sentence, he was unable to resist the temptation to reoffend.

His prior offences involved a staggering 250,000 images and video clips, and he also had a previous conviction for indecently assaulting a teenage schoolgirl.

Rimmer challenged his sentence on appeal, claiming it was excessive, and also contested the sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) that prohibited him from using a computer and mobile phone.

He argued that the sentencing judge wrongly labeled him as dangerous and that the SOPO was “unnecessary.” However, Lord Justice Moses, alongside Mr Justice Lindblom and Judge Charles Wide, dismissed these arguments, stating, “It is plain that he has no insight into his addiction and the dangers of it.” The judge emphasized the danger posed by Rimmer, noting, “The very fact he was committing similar offences so soon after his release shows not only his inability to resist temptation but also underscores the importance of protecting the public from such behaviour.”