Radlett man given suspended sentence for child pornography
St Albans Crown Court. Picture: DANNY LOO - Credit: Picture: DANNY LOO
A 66-year-old man from Radlett received a six-month suspended sentence for viewing indecent images of children.
Haydn Holland, of Watford Road, pleaded guilty to downloading one category A image and 13 category C images during a one-week period in 2017.
He was initially charged with downloading two category A images, five category B images and 25 category C images, but this was reassessed following further investigation of his laptop.
Police arrested Holland at his home on November 30, 2017. Catherine Milsom, prosecuting Holland in St Albans Crown Court today, said: “He denied being in possession of images of children.
“He said he hadn’t downloaded any but said he had opened a couple of images on his laptop. The laptop was seized and the defendant was interviewed but gave no comment.”
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Holland has no previous convictions, and worked in the energy industry for 30 years before becoming a consultant. He is married and has an adult son and daughter.
Charles Falk, mitigating, told the court that Holland looked at images on only two occasions, during the space of one week. He said: “No images were saved or collected. This seems to me a bit of an isolated browsing case.
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“He made no attempt to conceal or suppress evidence.”
Holland had also researched the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, which helps rehabilitate offenders and prevent child sex abuse.
Mr Falk said: “He voluntarily took part in a group therapy course and has undergone counselling at his own expense. He set up an application that automatically sends his browsing history to his counsellor.
“His difficulties stem from his childhood, when he was ruthlessly bullied at school and attempted suicide at age 13.
“This has been deeply humiliating.”
Judge Michael Simon acknowledged the seriousness of child pornography offences and the impact on victims. He said: “There is the absence of any previous convictions, good character, your remorse and your demonstration of steps taken to address your offending behaviour.”
Holland was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to undergo 20 days of rehabilitation and 150 hours of unpaid work.
