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Jersey Unreported Judgments
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Jersey Unreported Judgments >> AG v Travers [2019] JRC 029 (22 February 2019)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/je/cases/UR/2019/2019_029.html
Cite as: [2019] JRC 029, [2019] JRC 29
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Inferior Number Sentencing - Indecent photographs
|
Before : |
T. J. Le Cocq, Esq., Deputy Bailiff, and Jurats Sparrow and Dulake |
The Attorney General
-v-
Rene John Pirouet Travers
Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court following a guilty plea to the following charge:
|
1 count of: |
Making indecent photographs of children, contrary to Article 2(1)(a) of the Protection of Children (Jersey) Law 1994 (Count 1). |
Age: 38.
Plea: Guilty.
Details of Offence:
Officers attended at the defendant's address to arrest him on suspicion of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. Officers seized several items from the address including a Silver Dell laptop from a desk in the lounge area. The laptop was examined and indecent images and movies were found and assessed according to the Copine scale as follows:
|
Level |
Still Images |
Moving Images |
Totals |
|
1 |
64 |
17 |
81 |
|
2 |
75 |
55 |
130 |
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
4 |
0 |
19 |
19 |
|
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Totals |
140 |
92 |
232 |
Details of Mitigation:
Guilty plea, good character, co-operation and genuine remorse.
Previous Convictions:
No relevant previous convictions.
Conclusions:
|
Count 1: |
Starting point 3 years' imprisonment. 2 years' imprisonment. |
Order sought under Article 5(1) of the Sex Offenders (Jersey) Law that a period of 5 years elapse before the accused is permitted to apply to no longer be subject to the notification requirements to commence from date of sentence.
Restraining Order sought to commence from date of sentence for a period of 5 years under Article 10(4) with the following conditions:
1. That the defendant be prohibited from:
(i) Living in the same household as any person under the age of 16 unless with the express approval of the Offender Management Unit of the States of Jersey Police;
(ii) Contacting or attempting to contact, via any form of social media, internet or telecommunications system, any female child he knows or believes to be under 16, unless there is a parent, guardian or responsible adult present who is over the age of 21, who is aware of the accused's convictions, and who does not have a conviction which would render him/her liable to notification under the Sex Offenders (Jersey) Law 2010;
(iii) Being alone with any female child under the age of 16 years, aside from such contact which is inadvertent or unavoidable. They will be considered to be alone if there is not a parent, guardian or responsible adult present who is over the age of 21, who is aware of the accused's convictions, and who does not have a conviction which would render him/her liable to notification under the Sex Offenders (Jersey) Law 2010.
2. That the defendant be prohibited from:
(i) Owning or having in his possession or having access to any device capable of accessing the internet unless
(a) It has the capacity to retain and display the history of internet use.
(b) The defendant ensures that such history is not deleted; and
(c) That he register the device with the Offender Management Unit of the States of Jersey Police.
3. That in circumstances where the defendant finds himself in contact or alone with a person under the age of 16, that he has a positive duty to remove himself from that situation as soon as reasonably possible;
4. That the defendant cannot refuse access to police officers who are monitoring or checking on his restraining orders, and he must allow officers entry to any premises he occupies or is in control of for the purposes of searching for relevant devices;
5. That the defendant provide advanced notification details of any proposed changes of address or employment that will have to be approved by the Offender Management Unit of the States of Jersey Police.
Order sought for the forfeiture and destruction of the Silver Dell laptop device.
Sentence and Observations of Court:
|
Count 1: |
Starting point 2 years and 6 months' imprisonment. 1 year and 8 months' imprisonment. |
Order made under Article 5(1) of the Sex Offenders (Jersey) Law that a period of 5 years elapse before the accused is permitted to apply to no longer be subject to the notification requirements to commence from date of sentence.
Restraining Order sought to commence from date of sentence for a period of 5 years under Article 10(4) with the conditions stated above.
The forfeiture and destruction of the laptop to be delayed for two months
R. C. P. Pedley, Esq., Crown Advocate.
Advocate A. L. Brown for the Defendant.
JUDGMENT
THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:
1. You are to be sentenced today with regard to one count of making indecent images of children. There were some 232 indecent images and movies, the large majority of which were under levels 1 and 2 of the Copine scale, but some of which were at levels 3 and 4. There were none at level 5. It is clear that you sought out this material and you downloaded it.
2. The Crown has correctly identified the approach to this matter. In making images within levels 4 and 5 of the Copine scale and applying the case of AG v Godson and Crowley [2013] (2) JLR 1 we start from the position of approximately 3 years' imprisonment as being an appropriate level to begin our consideration. This case does not mirror all of the factors assumed in arriving at that starting figure; there has been no trial, you have pleaded guilty, and although the number of images are significant we agree with the Crown that they should not increase the starting point.
3. You have some mitigation available to you. As I have said you have entered a guilty plea which is to your credit and you have been cooperative. You have no relevant previous convictions. There was some question as to whether you have understood the effect of this offending. This is not a victimless crime. There are real children who are subject to degrading and perverse treatment in order to gratify people with appetites for this kind of material. It does not matter that the same images may have been viewed by a large number of individuals, what matters to our mind is the fact that in downloading this material you have supported the environment and market in which the images were created. That being said, we accept on the material before us that you now have some understanding of the effects and that your remorse is accordingly genuine. You expressed yourself as beginning to become sickened with your activity and being relieved eventually to have been caught. You are however, assessed at being at a high risk of general reconviction and a high risk of sexual recidivism, and you will need to undertake significant work to reduce those risk factors.
4. We turn first to the matter of notification under the Sex Offenders (Jersey) Law 2010 which you do not oppose. We have considered the matter and agree with the Crown that the appropriate period is 5 years from which you may seek to have the notification requirements dis-applied.
5. We have also given consideration to the application made under Article (10)4 of that law. Again we have considered this matter carefully and have no hesitation in imposing the restrictions requested by the Crown which again you have not opposed. The reason for doing so with regard to computers is perhaps self-evident, but we think the restriction relating to being alone with a female child under the age of 16 is indicated by the circumstances in which this offending came to the attention of the authorities.
6. Turning to the question of sentence, reviewing the matters as a whole and taking into account the example cases specifically referred to by your counsel, we think that we can take a slightly different view than has the Crown with regard to the starting point. We think the correct starting point is one of 2½ years, we apply what we consider to be the appropriate discount for such mitigation as is available to you, and sentence you to prison for 1 year and 8 months.
7. We also order the forfeiture and destruction of the laptop, delayed for 2 months to enable the recovery of personal family photographs and educational material.
Authorities
AG v Godson and Crowley [2013] (2) JLR 1
Sexual Offenders (Jersey) Law 2010
Protection of Children (Jersey) Law 1994