Man had extreme images on phone

JON MACPHERSON

ACONVICTED sex offender who was caught with extreme pornographic images involving animals on his phone has avoided jail.

Police attended Stephen Hutchinson’s former home on North Road in Rawtenstall and during a routine check of his mobile phone they found 47 images.

Burnley Crown Court heard how an examination of the phone’s internet history also revealed that the 41-year-old had made searches for ‘rape and teenage girls’.

Hutchinson, now of Bacup, pleaded guilty to possessing extreme pornographic images.

He was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years with a supervision requirement, a 30-day rehabilitation activity required and a sex offender programme.

Mercedes Jabbari, prosecuting, said police found the images when they attended his former home at 6.30pm on December 22 last year.

She told the court: “The purpose of the visit was to discuss concerns about a Facebook posting potentially exposing the defendant as a sex offender.

“While they were there the officers requested to view his phone and raised concern about the search history and websites used.”

Ms Jabbari said when Hutchinson, who has 120 previous convictions, was interviewed he admitted viewing and downloading the images, but ‘minimised it somewhat by saying he had been speaking to people about it and became curious’.

Imran Majid, defending, said Hutchinson was ‘merely curious’ and didn’t download the images for ‘sexual gratification. He told the court that the defendant deserved credit for his early guilty plea.

He said: “He had looked at the images and as far as he was concerned had deleted them so they couldn’t be seen again.

“The Probation Service said there are various programmes and things they could do with him in the community. He had taken a major risk in what he had done.”

Judge Beverley Lunt said they were ‘disgraceful and disgusting’ images and that she ‘wouldn’t give him another chance’.

Sentencing, she said: “He knew exactly what he was doing was wrong, especially with his previous convictions.

“I can’t send him to prison for long enough so they could do anything with him.” ●● Stephen Hutchinson