MICHAEL GILMORE OF CHELMSFORD AND IPSWICH ESCAPES PRISON DESPITE DISTURBING CHILD AND CORPSE IMAGE OFFENSES
In July 2014, a former IT technician named Michael Gilmore, 42, who had recently relocated from Hill Road, Chelmsford, to Felix Road, Ipswich, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court facing serious charges related to child abuse images and disturbing material involving corpses.Gilmore pleaded guilty to ten charges of downloading and possessing indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children, including one picture and a video depicting sexual acts with a corpse.
During the hearing, Judge David Turner expressed the difficult balance the court faced, stating: "The court is faced with an impossible dilemma – on the one hand, a defendant who re-offends in this way deserves to go to prison, and if that previous offending had been more recent than 10 years ago, you would be going to prison today.
But that is not the course of action I will take.
I intend to extend a measure of mercy to protect you and the public from further harm so that you can get some help in the long-term interest of all concerned." The judge acknowledged the severity of the images but also noted Gilmore's apparent development of a morbid interest.
He added, “This is a shameful day for you, and these images are of a dreadful nature.
I accept you developed a morbid interest in these images.
But this is not a victimless crime – to make these images, young children as young as four and five are forced into makeshift studios, exploited for profit.” As part of a plea bargain, two counts of distributing indecent images were left on file.
Gilmore admitted in May to possessing nearly 2,000 images—1,943 at level 1, along with 226 at level 3, 18 at level 5, and 73 at level 7—and a film depicting sex with a deceased person, all between January 2012 and July 2014.
Police raided his home on September 19 of the previous year but only arrested him after he voluntarily contacted officers and attended an interview on October 17.
During interviews, Gilmore revealed struggles with work-related stress, social withdrawal, and a history of being stabbed in London in October 2012, leading him to seek out increasingly extreme pornography online.
The court heard that he initially looked for material involving young women aged 18-20 but soon turned to images of children aged 11 and 12, which he downloaded and shared internationally via peer-to-peer networks.
Gilmore’s prior convictions included a 2004 conviction for similar offenses, resulting in a community order and a five-year registration on the sex offenders register.
After a period of stability engaged in hobbies such as model airplanes and music, his life was disrupted by the 2012 knife attack, which left facial scars and psychological trauma.
Stress from personal relationships, alcohol abuse, and work pressures contributed to his escalating offending behavior.
Since moving to Ipswich, Gilmore was also investigated for additional child pornography involving approximately 1,400 images at levels 1 and 2.
Following his October arrest, he experienced increased depression and self-harm, including stabbing himself “at least a dozen times” in the scrotum but without seeking medical attention.
Gilmore, previously a resident of Witham, was sentenced to a three-year community order with a three-year supervision requirement to complete a sex offender treatment program.
He was also issued a sexual harm prevention order requiring him to surrender electronic devices on request and to register as a sex offender for five years.
In May 2014, Gilmore admitted to possessing extreme pornographic images involving corpses and child abuse images, pleaded guilty to nine additional charges, and was scheduled for sentencing after being placed on the "warned list" starting June 17, 2014, with sentencing to follow shortly thereafter.
