PORTAVOGIE MAN STEVEN SMILLIE JAILED FOR EXTREME CHILD ABUSE IMAGES IN DOWNPATRICK

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the community of Portavogie, Steven Richard Smillie, a 45-year-old resident of Springhill Road, was sentenced to a year in prison for possessing and creating a vast collection of child abuse images and videos. The sentencing took place at Downpatrick Crown Court, where Judge Piers Grant delivered a stern verdict, emphasizing the severity of Smillie’s actions and the profound harm caused to innocent children.

During the hearing, it was revealed that Smillie had accumulated over 2,000 indecent images and at least five videos depicting children in various states of abuse and pain. These materials ranged from Category A, the most graphic and extreme, to Category C, which still depicted disturbing content. The court learned that these images and videos were downloaded onto Smillie’s phone over a period spanning from May 31, 2014, to February 2, 2017.

Judge Grant did not hold back in condemning the content, describing it as “graphic, brutal, and cruel,” and emphasizing that each image demonstrated children in pain and suffering against their will. The judge highlighted the heinous nature of the material, calling it “absolutely disgusting” and underscoring that the children involved had no choice in what was happening to them.

Smillie pleaded guilty to 14 counts of making indecent photographs or pseudo-images of children, along with two counts of possessing prohibited images and two counts of possessing extreme photographic images. The court’s decision was firm: Smillie was sentenced to one year in prison, with an additional year under supervised license conditions. Furthermore, he was ordered to sign the police sex offenders register for the next ten years and was banned from working with children in any capacity.

Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant McPhillips issued a stark warning, stating, “Children should be able to live their lives in total innocence, without a care in the world. However, there are people who choose to exploit and expose children to their dark, depraved underworld.” He reaffirmed the relentless efforts of law enforcement to combat such crimes, emphasizing that digital footprints left by offenders are traceable and that those involved in viewing or distributing such images will face severe consequences. “My message today is clear: our officers will not cease in their endeavour to catch those who exploit the most vulnerable in our society. This conviction should serve as a warning to those who think their own activity will go unnoticed or unpunished. Everyone leaves a digital footprint when downloading, viewing, or making indecent images of children. We will be relentless in our pursuit of offenders, and when we catch them, the repercussions will be far-reaching.”