Sex offender addicted to porn jailed over indecent child images

A REGISTERED sex offender with an addiction to pornography who was caught with indecent images of children on his phone was handed a 20-month sentence yesterday.

Jailing Christopher Moreland at Belfast Crown Court, Judge Geoffrey Miller QC said those who viewed images of children being sexually abused for their “perverted pleasure” contributed to the “pain, discomfort and fear” experienced by them.

Moreland (46), who earlier this week was upgraded by Probation to a Category Two Sex Offender, was told he will serve 10 months in prison, followed by 10 months on licence, for three offences arising from a search at his north Belfast home last year.

Crown prosecutor Peter Magill said that on April 17, 2017 police called to Moreland’s Brookhill Avenue home, at a time when Moreland was the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) which banned him from owning any devices that could access the internet without being authorised by police.

Mr Magill said that when asked to produce any electronic devices, Moreland “appeared nervous” before handing over an Xbox and iPhone.

An indecent image of a child was “immediately” seen on the phone and Moreland later confessed to breaching a SOPO, possessing indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography.

When asked by police about one particular image, Moreland said he received it from a male who followed him on Twitter.

The prosecutor told the judge that in total, seven indecent images of children were found on Moreland’s devices, along with 18 extreme pornographic images and a video of an adult male having intercourse with a child.

Moreland was described as a man “with an addiction to pornography and a sexual interest in children”.

Defence barrister Kelly Doherty spoke of her client’s social isolation which led to his use of pornography “as an outlet”.

Ms Doherty said her client has apologised to both the police and the court, adding “he does have some victim insight and awareness, but this is limited”.

Judge Miller said that despite participating in programmes in the past to both address and try and reduce Moreland’s offending, these seem to have had “limited impact”.

The judge added that while he noted the amount of images was relatively small, accessing the internet via these devices was a “deliberate and calculated breach” from a sex offender with “relevant convictions”.