KERRY TRUBEE FROM CROYDON ESCAPES JAIL AFTER CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

In September 2011, a disturbing case unfolded at Croydon Crown Court involving Kerry Trubee, a 61-year-old resident of Fisher Close, Croydon. Trubee faced serious allegations after being found guilty of possessing nearly 4,000 indecent images of children, a crime that shocked the local community and raised questions about the effectiveness of the justice system in such cases.

Trubee appeared before the court on September 16, where he pleaded guilty to 16 counts related to the possession of these illicit images. The images in question depicted young girls aged between four and ten years old, with a total of 3,877 images discovered on his devices. The court was told that the images ranged across various levels of severity, including 2,896 at level one, 282 at level two, 287 at level three, 394 at level four, and 18 at level five.

Despite the gravity of the charges, Trubee was not sentenced to immediate imprisonment. Instead, Judge Warwick McKinnon opted for a more lenient approach, handing him a three-year supervision order. As part of this order, Trubee is required to participate in a sex offender group programme, sign the sex offenders register, and keep police informed of his current address at all times. The judge explained his decision, stating, “I could send you down today but it is my judgement that would be disproportionate in the circumstances.”

The court heard that Trubee’s offending began at his family home in Famet Avenue, Purley. The motivation behind his actions was reportedly linked to concerns that one of his daughters might have been a victim of a sexual predator, which led him to download the images in a misguided attempt to investigate or understand the threat. This revelation added a disturbing layer to the case, highlighting the complex and troubling motivations behind such crimes.

Prosecutor Shekinah Anson revealed that Trubee suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which she said contributed to the escalation of his behaviour. She stated, “He told police there was no sexual gratification from these images and he was in fact impotent,” attempting to explain his actions and mitigate the perceived severity of his crime.

Defence lawyer Andrew Hope provided additional context, explaining that Trubee has underlying health issues, including heart problems and diabetes. He also noted that after the police seized his home computers on April 4 of that year, Trubee became so unwell that he was admitted to a psychiatric ward. Importantly, Hope emphasized that none of the images were saved onto the five computers that were confiscated, asserting, “In the majority of cases such as these, images are downloaded, saved, and catalogued. None of the images recovered from the defendant’s computer were saved.”

To illustrate Trubee’s obsessive tendencies, Hope mentioned that he had amassed a collection of thousands of war history books, though he had only read a fifth of them. Trubee is currently receiving counseling to address his mental health issues, which the defence argued should be taken into account during sentencing.

Judge McKinnon acknowledged the seriousness of the case but also recognized the defendant’s admitted mental health problems. He remarked, “There is a real problem here that you have, that is obvious and you have finally admitted it,” indicating that while the case was grave, the court’s decision aimed to balance justice with the defendant’s health considerations.