Paedophile dad blamed sons for child rape photos - The Stratford Observer

Paedophile dad blamed sons for child rape photos

Stratford Editorial 4th Aug, 2015 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

A PAEDOPHILE who backed up pornographic images of children, including girls as young as five being raped, onto CDs tried to blame his sons for downloading them.

But perverted Andrew Martin finally admitted his responsibility after it was found the son he first blamed would only have been three or four, and his brother no older than six, at the time.

The 43 year-old of Southam Road, Long Itchington, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to three charges of making indecent images of children and three of possessing such images.

And at Coventry Crown Court he was given a three-year community sentence and ordered to take part in a sex offenders’ programme for three years and to live at a probation hostel for the first six months.




Prosecutor Andrew Tucker said when police executed a search warrant at Martin’s home last year they seized his computer and some discs.

On the discs they then found he had copied 25 indecent images of children he had previously downloaded, including pictures covered by all three levels of seriousness.


And disgustingly, among the five in the most serious category were pictures of girls as young as five being raped and forced to perform other sex acts.

When Martin was interviewed in December he attempted to deflect responsibility onto one of his sons, and then onto that boy’s older brother.

And when he first appeared in court he denied the charges – only admitting his guilt as he was about to stand trial.

Nicholas Aldridge, defending, said a pre-sentence report gave ‘a degree of insight’ into Martin’s offending.

“He accepts that a number of years ago, between 2001 and 2003, he downloaded these indecent images. He fully accepts he viewed them, although he continues to say he did not gain sexual satisfaction from them.”

But Judge Philip Gregory interjected: “I don’t believe that for one moment.”

Sentencing Martin, who was ordered to register as a sex offender for five years, the judge told him: “You have displayed an unhealthy and unlawful and worrying sexual interest in young children.

“You found it right to gain sexual satisfaction by viewing these and downloading them onto compact discs so you could view them again. The public rightly considers these offences to be disgusting.

“You made things worse by lying about what you had done, first by blaming one son, who would have been three or four, and then the other, who would have been five or six. This was utterly shameful behaviour.

“You are found to be a serious risk of harm to children. Nevertheless, in the light of the time you have already spent in custody I am prepared to adopt the recommendation of the probation officer.”

Judge Gregory also made Martin subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention, order under which he cannot work with children, have unsupervised contact with children, or live at any address where there are children.

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