‘Parkinson’s drugs gave me paedophile urge’
Scientist spared jail after blaming treatment for offences such as drawing up child sex crime ‘manual’
A SCIENTIST who secretly filmed hundreds of women and drew up a manual on how to sexually abuse children walked free from court after blaming his offending on his medication.
Dr Jeremy Richard Allington-Smith, a former lecturer at Durham Universi- ty, was given a community order after arguing he had developed hypersexuality, an inability to control impulses, and obsessive behaviour while taking dopamine agonist medication for Parkinson’s disease.
Allington-Smith, who was one of the country’s leading astrophysicists, had sought assistance from his doctor to combat his impulses, but had underplayed the extent of his activities.
Over a five-year period he made more than 360 films of women wearing short skirts and shorts in public and recorded some undressing using a camera phone underneath a door, Durham Crown Court heard. He also downloaded a large number of images of child sex abuse, and wrote a manual containing advice about sexually abusing children featuring more than 4,000 of his own hand-drawn images.
Harry Hadfield, prosecuting, said the case came to police attention after a student sorting through rubbish to separate out recyclable material discovered a brown envelope containing a large number of his sketches.
Police searched Allington-Smith’s home and university office where they found the child porn images, the videos and his “paedophile manual”. At inter- view Allington-Smith, 59, said he had made the sketches in moments of “idleness” for sexual gratification and did not realise they were illegal, as no children had been abused.
He admitted making indecent images and possessing prohibited images of children as well as possessing a paedophile manual, voyeurism and committing acts outraging public decency.
Brian Russell, mitigating, presented medical reports and character references to Judge Christopher Prince.
Judge Prince said he could take the “exceptional course” of passing a noncustodial sentence. He said Allington-- Smith had had “a brilliant academic career”, was “racked with remorse” and had willingly submitting himself for psychiatric help and counselling.
The judge said eminent physicians had confirmed the potential side effects of the drugs taken by Allington-Smith and, with careful monitoring, they could be safely controlled to prevent any repeat of his behaviour.
Judge Prince said he had a “high-degree of confidence” there would not be any re-offending and gave him a threeyear community supervision order. Allington-Smith, from Durham, must register as a sex offender for five years.