Man walks free after downloading child porn

A man found drunk in front of a computer where he had downloaded child porn movie files walked free from a Belfast court today.

Detectives found former City Council worker David Fleming, 50, slumped and asleep when then they raided his home at Whitehead, Co Antrim.

Later, he was forced to leave and return to live with his parents after neighbours became aware of his secret activity.

Police examined his computer and found graphic film footage of young girl aged 10 or 11 involved in sex acts with a man.

A CD with 14 different pornographic films, including one lasting several minutes and involving the same child, was also discovered.

Fleming was arrested and pleaded guilty to the offences.

At Belfast Crown Court today he was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to attend a special supervision unit for 30 days.

Although the judge, Jeffrey Foote QC, insisted any case involving children was extremely serious, he held back from sending Fleming to jail.

He told him: “I have been persuaded that I don’t have to impose a custodial sentence.”

Even though Fleming faced six counts of possession and making child porn material after the raid in February last year, defence barrister Taylor Campbell said some were duplicates.

“This could not be referred to as anything like an extensive collection,” he said.

The court heard Fleming had a fetish for women who dress up as schoolchildren and had come across the illegal films while searching for adult porn.

“He accepts that he continued to look at these sites,” Mr Campbell admitted.

“You can’t get away from the fact that he made a CD recording.”

The lawyer added that Fleming had never paid for the category three images or traded pictures with others.

He said: “This man is by no stretch of the imagination a paedophile, a person who would touch a child or do something obscene in the presence of a child.

“He is horrified to find himself here.”

Fleming lost two jobs working in the parks department of Belfast City Council and delivering food for a Chinese take-away when his employers found out what he had been guilty of.

He had also been forced to quit his Marine Avenue home and return to his elderly parents house in Belfast, Mr Campbell added.

Judge Foote told Fleming that under current legal guidelines he could be jailed for up to six months for the child porn images he possessed.

“In your favour are the facts that you pleaded guilty at a very early stage and you have no record of behaviour of this kind at all,” he said.

Fleming was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for seven years.