INDECENT PHOTOS TEEN WALKS FREE
EX-JUSTICE MINISTER SLAMS GUIDELINES
A JUDGE who expressed frustration at not being able to impose a stiffer sentence on a teenager found guilty of tricking schoolboys into sending him indecent images “must be listened to”, a former Justice Minister has said.
Yesterday Owen Mounsey (18) was freed on a combination order of 100 hours community service and two years probation after pleading guilty to a catalogue of offences at Belfast Crown Court.
The Holywood teenager was aged between 14 and 17 when he tricked three schoolboys into sending him indecent photos, which he then shared with a Dutchman who had tutored him in how to solicit images from boys.
Mounsey engaged in social media conversations during which he offered video credits and gym advice in return for photographs.
On Wednesday prosecution lawyer Simon Jenkins revealed that among the total of 954 images, including 54 videos, recovered from various devices, almost a third were in the most serious category.
Paedophile sex abuse manuals, which the teenager admitted reading, were also discovered in his Station Road home, but Mounsey claimed they had been “inadvertently” downloaded.
Judge Geoffrey Miller QC said he would have preferred a “carrot and stick approach” but did not have the power to impose additional requirements on a suspended sentence.
He also expressed concern over Mounsey’s breach of bail, where he “deliberately sought out” child victims, which he described as a “troubling aspect”.
But Judge Miller pointed to his early admission of guilt and the fact that Mounsey was sexually abused himself, and vilified when his offending became known, and said he was entitled to the maximum credit.
Defence counsel Barry Gibson said that while Mounsey fell to be dealt with as an adult, what occurred took place when he was still a youth and at a time he was confused about his gender.
He pointed to a number of psychiatric and probation reports which he said illustrate the “difficult journey” Mounsey has been on.
“He has come out a better person for it,” Mr Gibson added.
The terms of his probation compel him to participate in a range of programmes to address his offending behaviour and to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.
Ex-Justice Minister Claire Sugden has called for policy changes to bring the sentencing structures here in line with England and Wales, where additional requirements can be imposed alongside a suspended jail term.
“It is concerning that Judge Miller feels constrained in this way and his frustration must be listened to,” said the independent unionist MLA.
Ms Sugden stressed the requirement to intricately balance the need for punishment, rehabilitation and a victim’s right to justice.
“These cases can be very complex, but we have to focus on rehabilitation because that is ultimately safer for everyone,” she added. “But perhaps having the threat of prison during that rehabilitation process is the best approach, especially given the serious nature of these crimes. If a judge wants the best of both worlds then he should not be starved of that choice.”
The Department of Justice said that while individual sentencing was a matter for trial judges, the existing framework was currently under review. It added the department intended to launch a public consultation on the sentencing review later this year.