JAMES POOLE FROM TELFORD AND LOWESTOFT INVOLVED IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY SCANDAL AT RAF LEEMING

In May 2014, James Poole, who now goes by the name Jack Dempsey and owns the shop and cafe called Dawn of Time located on the high street in Lowestoft, became a notable figure in a disturbing case involving child abuse images. Recent photographs show him operating his business in Lowestoft, but his past criminal activities are still a matter of public record.

Back in January 2003, Poole, then a 34-year-old former airman from Dalford Court, Telford, Shropshire, was involved in a serious legal case at Teesside Crown Court. He was found guilty of downloading indecent images of children, a crime that led to his initial 18-month prison sentence. However, the Court of Appeal later reduced his sentence significantly, cutting it down to just three months, which resulted in his immediate release from custody. Despite serving a shortened sentence, Poole’s guilt in possessing child abuse images was never overturned.

Poole’s criminal activities came to light at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire in October 2002. Authorities discovered thousands of pornographic images, including illicit pictures of girls under the age of 16, stored on a computer at the base. During the investigation, Poole, who was then serving in the Royal Air Force, admitted to visiting internet sites that hosted child pornography. He also claimed that such material was commonplace within the RAF community, with indecent images often being exchanged among servicemen in barracks in exchange for videos and cigarettes.

Poole, who was 33 at the time and a father of two, faced 12 counts of taking indecent photographs of young girls, with the alleged offenses spanning from September 2000 until his arrest on August 9, 2002. The arrest was triggered by a raid conducted by Ministry of Defence police at Blackburn Barracks, where they seized his computer. The seized device contained a folder labeled “Sorted Porn,” and investigators found a significant amount of illicit material, including images of girls believed to be under 16. Poole was detained just days before he was scheduled to leave the RAF, amid allegations of harassment, which added to the complexity of his case.

During questioning, Poole claimed that the images might have been placed on his computer remotely by an unknown third party. He insisted that he was experienced in computer use, having served in the military for 12 years before transitioning to work as a self-employed IT consultant. Detective Constable David John Lewis of the MoD police stated that Poole used software capable of automatically downloading images from various internet sites. The investigation revealed that Poole’s hard drive contained approximately 6,000 pornographic images, along with two CD-ROMs filled with indecent pictures, including images of girls believed to be under 16.

Poole maintained during interviews that a former lover, whom he had previously harassed, had installed a remote-access program on his computer, which could have been used to download child pornography without his knowledge. He denied any involvement in actively searching for or possessing such images himself. In court, he admitted to downloading amateur cartoon pornography, specifically Japanese Hentai and Manga, which he shared with other servicemen, but he strongly denied being involved in the search for child pornography.

He expressed his outrage at the allegations, stating, “I am the father of a six-year-old girl. I am not a child pornographer. The one thing I cannot stand, the one thing that really gets my back up is child pornography.” Poole also explained that he could not account for how the images appeared on his computer, suggesting that his room was accessible to other servicemen who could have used his equipment to browse the internet.

Following his arrest, a computer consultant named Jonathan Vogler from Leeds testified that files appeared on Poole’s PC after the arrest but could not clarify how they had been created or transferred. He also criticized the MoD police for not adhering to proper police guidelines during the search, noting that they did not immediately disconnect Poole’s computer from the internet or network, which was connected to his neighbor’s computer. This case remains a stark reminder of the serious issues surrounding child exploitation and the importance of rigorous law enforcement procedures.