June 2015

Pervert jailed after admitting having indecent pictures of children

A 66-year-old man has been jailed after he admitted having indecent pictures of children and extreme pornography.

Francis Dowson also admitted flouting a court order which was meant to protect the public from sexual offences.

He had pleaded guilty to four offences at Teesside Magistrates’ Court and was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.

He admitted possessing an extreme pornographic image, described as “grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of an obscene character” on May 13, 2013, and admitted making 38 indecent photographs of a child between June 2008 and May 2013.

He also admitted two counts of breaching a sexual offences prevention order made by Teesside Crown Court in September 2011.

These offences involved his use of a laptop in May 2013 and May 2014 at a time when Dowson was still subject to a suspended sentence for previous offences involving indecent images of children.

As a result of his previous conviction, Dowson had been subject to a supervision order which restricted his use of computers and meant that a public protection officer could check on his activities at any point.

When an officer arrived at Dowson’s house on Bradhope Road, Berwick Hills, Middlesbrough, on May 14 last year, Dowson admitted that he had a laptop in his bedroom which was connected to the internet.

Nigel Soppitt prosecuting said that when the laptop was checked by police, 38 indecent images of children were found, two of which were in the most serious category.

Police also found two images of extreme pornography and evidence that Dowson had installed anti-forensic software on the laptop.

Robert Mochrie defending: “There is very little that I propose to say on behalf of Mr Dowson. It’s not to do him a disservice when one considers the plea.

“He has done the right thing by entering the guilty pleas. I can say on his behalf that two years have now elapsed with no repeat.”Sentencing Dowson, Judge Howard Crowson said: “When you came before the court last time you were given a prison sentence that was suspended.

“You were also given a sexual offences order. You were still looking at indecent images of children.

“There are category A images in this, possession of which has a 12 month starting point made worse during a suspended sentence.”

Judge Crowson placed a new 10-year sexual harm prevention order on Dowson prohibiting unsupervised contact with children under 16 and prohibiting the use of computers.

For the four offences Dowson pleaded guilty to while already serving a suspended sentence, Judge Crowson sentenced Dowson to a total of 27 months in prison.

He said: “You won’t serve it all I’m sure.”