Vigilantes target pervert’s home
23-year-old man and his family forced to relocate after details of offences emerged
A PERVERT caught with child abuse photos was forced to relocate with his family after being targeted by vigilantes.
Ashley Winkle’s home was the ‘victim of violence’ after news of his sex offending emerged.
Stoke-on-trent Crown Court heard the vandal attacks happened after Winkle downloaded and kept indecent images of children for nearly four years.
The 23-year-old was arrested when police visited his Leek home and seized his computer and laptop.
Officers found 10 category A moving images; 12 at category B; 57 images at category C and two extreme pornographic bestiality images. And the defendant used software to try and prevent being detected.
Now Winkle has been handed a three-year community order as a direct alternative to a prison sentence as the judge felt that was the best way to rehabilitate him and protect the public in the future.
Scott Ashdown, mitigating, told the court the defendant and his family have had to relocate as ‘vigilante violence has been brought to his door’.
He added that the defendant had no previous convictions.
Mr Ashdown said: “The effects of his poor choices have been felt and felt hard and he hopes not to repeat this behaviour again knowing full well what the consequences will be.
“He was between 18 and 22 when this was committed, a three-year and 11 month period. He has taken voluntary steps to address his offending.
“He is ready, willing and able to seize the opportunity to put this kind of behaviour behind him and he would welcome such an opportunity with open arms.
“He has been punished by the loss of his good name. He lost his job as a result of the case being published in the local press.”
Prosecutor Geoff Whelan told the court that police went to the defendant’s home in Leek at 8.25am on July 4 last year.
Mr Whelan said: “The officer seized a desktop computer tower and returned to the address at 5.15pm on July 8, 2019 when the police were provided with a laptop belonging to the defendant.”
In his police interview the defendant accepted he had been downloading the images for a while and said it had become a routine after seeing pop-ups on normal porn websites. He accepted using software to hide his IP device.
Winkle, of Horsecroft Crescent, pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children and possessing an extreme pornographic image.
Judge Sally Hancox said sending the defendant to prison would mean he would not get the assistance he needs and a community order of significant length would go much further to ensuring the protection of the public and reducing any risk.
Judge Hancox said: “You have encountered, viewed, sought out and used for your own personal gratification images of children being sexually abused by adults.
“There is not an image that exists of child abuse on the internet that has not begun by the actual abuse of a child.
“Until there is no market for this appalling imagery it will continue and those who find themselves in your position must understand that the way to stop this is to stop people like yourself.
“The order will ensure you are spoken to, assisted, and challenged as to your behaviour, and most importantly, monitored for a longer period of time that might otherwise have been if I exercised my discretion to send you to custody.
“This is the first time you have attended before the courts. You are still a young man who I hope is trying to move on in a more positive and lawful way.”
The judge said the defendant’s family have become victims of his offending.
She added: “Your name and details must be openly reported in these court rooms.
“The actions that others choose to make are unlawful and objectionable but it is the case that this court can’t control the behaviour of all. I do not support or condone what has happened. Causing criminal damage to someone’s home is a criminal offence.”
As part of the community order Winkle must complete a sexual offending programme requirement and a rehabilitation activity requirement for 20 days.
He was placed on the sex offenders’ register and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
And he must pay £340 costs.