Paedophile is allowed to contact another offender – because he hasn’t got any friends

A lonely paedophile has been allowed to contact another child sex offender because he is ‘socially isolated’ and has no other friends.

Barry Cutler, 68, was jailed for a year back in 2011 after being arrested alongside other members of the now-defunct Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) which became infamous in the 1970s for advocating sex with children.

He was held when police raided the home of ringleader Steven Freeman, in Putney, southwest London, and found his stash of 3,000 obscene sketches as well as nearly 15,000 images and films in July 2008.

Freeman held weekly meetings for his friends to share his hoard, including computer games which award points for the seduction of young boys.

Cutler eventually pleaded guilty to four counts of possession of indecent photos of a child as well as one of failing to disclose a key to protected information and was jailed for 12 months three years later in July 2011.

A sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) was passed which banned him from meeting or communicating with anyone who has a conviction for sexual offences against a child.

Among various subsequent appeals against the length of imprisonment and different clauses of the order was one challenging the proscription on communicating with other paedophiles.

Cutler argued that his ‘social circle was extremely limited as a result of social phobia disorder’ and claimed a restriction on ‘associating with individuals who he saw as friends, some of whom he had known for over 30 years, was disproportionate’.

When that plea was turned down, his barrister told the Court of Appeal that the clause impinged his right to respect for his family life and his freedom of association with others.

He applied to add the words ‘in private’ thereby allowing him to meet fellow paedophiles in public.

But again, appeal judges refused the application, ruling that doing so would do nothing to prevent the perverts passing sick child abuse images between them.

They found Cutler ‘was a member of a determined and sophisticated paedophile ring’ which utilised data encryption ‘to avoid detection’.

There was there was still ‘an obvious risk’ of them continuing to offend, adding that ‘the abhorrent views of the individuals were reinforced by the group and the meetings between them’.

Most recently, Cutler, from Beckenham, southeast London, sought to vary the SOPO by removing the prohibition completely.

Judge Nicholas Cooke QC, sitting at the Old Bailey, agreed to amend the order slightly by allowing him to contact Anthony Zalewski, an ex-PIE member with two child sex convictions dating back to 1976 and 1985.

The judge said nothing else to Zalewski’s detriment had been drawn to his attention, adding that the pair had some common interests unconnected to offending and their association presented no current risk.

‘Although I am obviously concerned that Anthony Zalewski was present when the police arrested the applicant and his co-defendants on the occasion that gave rise to the applicant’s convictions, the fact is that he was fully investigated at that time and was not convicted of any offence,’ Judge Cooke said in his judgement.

‘His former membership of the Paedophile Information Exchange is also worrying.

‘However, the prosecution or Commissioner has never sought an order preventing the applicant from having any contact with former members of the Paedophile Information Exchange, per se.’

Refusing to vary the SOPO any further, Judge Cooke branded Cutler ‘a sad figure’ who ‘lacks insight into the damage done by child pornography’.

‘I am convinced that unrestrained by the parts of the sexual offences prevention order with which I decline to interfere he would be likely to offend again,’ he continued.

‘I accept the evidence in relation to the applicant’s social isolation and I encourage him to seek assistance with that.

‘I reject, however, the argument that unrestrained association with persons he knows to have committed sexual offences, including non-contact offences, involving children can be justified as a response to that.

‘The risk to children consequent upon their being used to produce child pornography and the distress caused to a defendant who has committed offences involving child pornography by orders designed to and justified in preventing repetition, simply cannot be weighed in the balance against each other.’

Cutler’s pals John Parratt, 70, and John Morrison, 44, were originally jailed alongside him.

The judge on that occasion, Recorder Oliver Sells QC, told them: ‘It is plain beyond doubt that you were all part of what has been described as a paedophile ring engaged in the possession, the viewing and the distribution of indecent images of children.

‘The photographs I have seen necessarily involved and encouraged the abuse and the exploitation of children who are vulnerable and unable to protect themselves from such perverted adult behaviour.

‘In your different ways and to varying degrees you have all contributed to that abuse of children wherever they may be.’

The judge told Freeman that he posed a significant risk to children and should be locked up indefinitely for the protection of the public.

Freeman drew pictures of sexual acts with young boys which he distributed among the group he affectionately called ‘My Paeds.’

He also had a sick board game called ‘Epicenium’ which could be played by children and adults.

The players took the parts of Roman slaves and masters and various pictures were displayed as the game continued.

‘The nature of the game is adult men having sex with boys. A computer version of this game was at the home Mr Freeman shared with John Morrison,’ said prosecutor Mark Gadsden.

The court heard the aim of the computer games was to have as much sex with as many boys as possible.

One of the instructions reads: ‘You will score highest with fully-consummated anal sex. In short, buggery wins.’

Police officers raiding Cutler’s home found it packed so full of magazines and photos that officers had to walk through the hallway sideways in order to get past.

Less than three weeks after his arrest Freeman posted an internet message under the name ‘Alcibiades’ reading: ‘Time for some more bad news then I’m afraid.

‘For over ten years now I’ve been hosting regular weekly gatherings of former PIE colleagues with occasional visits from other paed friends or friends of friends.

‘Four weeks ago on one of those evenings, at about 8pm, my house was invaded by a dozen or so shouting people brandishing weapons.

‘It was a police raid. I an five of my friends were arrested.’

In another he wrote: ‘The anonymity of the internet allows paedophiles to communicate more freely with one another than was physically or legally possible before.

‘It’s a massive enabling technology. The question for the thinking paedophile of today is: how do we make best use of this technology to further our collective interest?

‘How do we translate the limited freedom of the web into the greater social freedoms we seek? How can this cyber community help us to promote greater tolerance and understanding?

‘When we finish talking to one another sooner or later we must begin talking again to the world at large, addressing its fears and suspicions.

‘How, where and when we take that step should be the abiding question for all of us.’

ends