Former West Lancs council officer spared jail over “disgusting” child porn images

Aug 18 2011 by Chloe Griffiths, Ormskirk Advertiser

A RESPECTED former West Lancashire council officer who watched “disgraceful, disgusting and appalling” child porn videos has been spared jail.

David Carter, an ex-borough council planning officer, was told by a judge on Tuesday that he must have a “twisted mind” to have gained sexual pleasure from such obscene footage.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Carter from Burscough, gave up his career to look after his elderly parents, and was caught after police discovered he had subscribed to an internet news group and downloaded the indecent images.

Judge Mark Brown told Carter: “I have had an opportunity of looking at some of these images and they can be described as disgraceful, disgusting and appalling.”

He added: “There are many many positive qualities as far as your background is concerned, but at the same time you were downloading these images and you accepted to the probation officer that you gained sexual gratification from it.”

Officers seized Carter’s computer after a raid at this home on Liverpool Road South on July 13, last year.

Judge Brown sentenced Carter to a three-year community order with supervision and ordered him to attend the Sex Offenders' Programme run from Northumbria.

In interview, Carter told how he shared his home with his elderly mother and would look at adult porn and admitted “possibly also children”.

Michael Wallbank, prosecuting, told how when experts examined his equipment they found 13 indecent child pornography videos, each about five minutes long.

He said that two were in the lowest two categories, nine in the second most severe level and two were of extreme pornography.

But Judge Brown said such videos would would contain “many thousands of images”.