An Internet pervert who built up a vile collection

An Internet pervert who built up a vile collection of pictures of young girls being sexually abused walked free from court today.

(TUE)

David Christison’s stash of downloaded child porn was discovered by a friend who was house-sitting, while the 45-year-old was working as a DJ in South Africa.

After wrestling with her conscience, Heidi Blackwell eventually reported Christison to the police who arrested him on his return to the UK.

Miss Blackwell found a box containing the 16 colour printouts in a bedroom drawer at the council flat Dundee-born Christison shared with his wife Sarah
in Tabard Street, Southwark, southeast London.

Sally Thompson, prosecuting, said Miss Blackwell was staying at the flat for free in return for doing some cleaning and decorating.

‘She was a good friend so she didn’t tell police straight away.

But after she told a mutual friend she decided she had to report it.

‘After a search of the flat, police seized the pictures and Christison’s computer,’ Miss Thompson said.

The machine’s hard drive showed that Christison trawled the Net for child sex porn, Inner London Crown Court heard.

Maria Masselis, defending, told the court that since Christison was arrested on December 9, 1999, he has been shunned by many of his friends.

He also had to move house and sold his car to raise funds for his wife Sarah, who he no longer lives with.

After living with friends in Derbyshire for several months, he moved into a hostel for Australian and South African backpackers called Millennium, at
(639) Harrow Road, Willesden, west London.

There Christison works as a caretaker in exchange for his board and lodging.

Since his arrest his DJ work had dried up, and he has been shunned by many of his friends, Miss Masselis said.

‘He is extremely concerned that this offence will result in his reputation as a DJ being lost,’ Miss Masselis said.

Apart from his computer, worth pnds stlg 1,800 when new, her client received just pnds stlg 52 a week and had no assets, the court heard.

Passing sentence Judge Nicholas Philpott told Christison: ‘I have to make it quite plain the court is not concerned in the slightest with your private life which is now additionally protected by Article 8 of the European Convention (on Human Rights).

‘The court is concerned that young girls had to be corrupted in order for photographs to be made which you acquired to satisfy your needs, or your wants, or your curiosity.

‘That is why these offences are so serious.

‘

But the judge said he was following sentencing guidelines that state the offences ‘do not call for a custodial sentence.

‘It’s particularly clear in this case you are only an end-user of this material.

‘But let me make it clear, you had no hand in its original creation, or original distribution and were simply a consumer and not a distributor, and this matter was found in your private home, secreted away by you.

‘As your earning capacity has, it seems, evaporated, at least at present, there’s scarcely room to fine you, except to a degree which would tend to
trivialise these offences.

‘But I feel fully entitled to deprive you of your computer and printer as punishment, while at the same time I conditionally discharge you for two years, concurrently on each of the 16 counts.

‘

The judge added that Christison’s name would be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Christison, of Harrow Road, admitted sixteen counts of making indecent photographs on December 9, 1999.

ends