September 2014
Blackpool man accessed indecent film footage and pictures of children
Nigel Norton found it thrilling to download something illegal, Preston Crown court was told.
But the 34-year-old film and TV production enthusiast was sent to jail by a judge who gave him a total of 16 months prison.
Norton, a man of previous good character, pleaded guilty yesterday to a total of 12 charges – six of making indecent images of children, three of possessing indecent images, plus three other offences of possessing an extreme pornographic image.
The latter three charges related to “snuff movies” – two of them depicting the rape of a woman while the other showed an adult female with a very young child and in the end showed an image of a dead child.
Judge Stuart Baker, in passing sentence, said that however distant someone felt from what was being depicted, anyone looking at such images was seeing real children.
“The children were not cartoon images. They were real children subjected to appalling abuse”, he said.
Paul Cummings, prosecuting, said police received information and obtained a search warrant which was executed at Norton’s home on Powell Avenue, Marton. This took place on July 4 last year.
More than 1,500 images, both still and moving, were found.
Neil Fraser Gunn, defending, said there was no suggestion of any of the material being distributed.
He submitted the court deal with the case without sending Norton to prison.
Mr Gunn told the court “An expert report indicates he suffers with obsessional behaviour.”
Norton had studied film and television production. His explanation was that while downloading numerous films he came across other material. Because of his obsessive behaviour, the downloading had to be completed before he could move on to his daily business.
Judge Baker said: “Whether it truly depicted a murder of the woman or didn’t, it was of an extremely distasteful nature”.
Norton will be on the Sex Offender’s Register for 10 years and subject to a sexual offences prevention order indefinitely.
