Possession, distribution and making of indecent images of children.

Penzance Paedophile Sentenced to 18 Months Imprisonment

A paedophile from Penzance has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment after confessing to police that he had been "at it again" following the seizure of his laptop and phone.

Jason Barnes, 29, of Nicholas Parc, was previously imprisoned for breaching a suspended sentence imposed in October 2016 for making indecent images of children. He committed similar offences less than a year later.

Prosecutor Philip Lee told Truro Crown Court that police attended Barnes' home in August 2017 and seized a laptop and phone. When the devices were seized, Barnes admitted to police: "I've been silly, I've been at it again."

The devices were found to contain over 500 indecent photographs of children: 27 in the most serious category A, 19 in category B, and 500 in category C. Another phone seized in August 2018 revealed that Barnes had also made 20 indecent images of children and distributed three. His internet search history included phrases such as "teen 12-18" and "hot boy 14."

Barnes had been sentenced to eight months imprisonment suspended for two years in October 2016 for previous offences involving making indecent images of children. At the time, he was ordered to participate in a rehabilitation programme for internet sexual offenders. However, it took the probation service until November 2017 to schedule his first appointment, by which time he had already reoffended.

Barnes' defence solicitor, Brian Fitzherbert, argued that the delay in the appointment was reason enough for a reduced sentence. He stated: "The reason for imposing the internet sex offenders programme is this: For Mr Barnes it had become something of an addiction. He was a man badly in need of the very effective assistance that programme can provide. At that stage he had not had a single appointment. It's something that hadn't happened. The first letter for the programme went out in 2017."

Fitzherbert added that Barnes was now doing much better and that the programme had been extremely useful in helping him understand the reasons behind his addiction to this type of material. He also mentioned that Barnes had been receiving help from sex offender charity Circles and asked for credit for his client's early guilty plea.

Sentencing Barnes at Truro Crown Court, Judge Robert Linford stated: "On the 21st of October 2016 you were made the subject of a suspended sentence in respect of the making of a number of indecent images of children. That order had coupled with it the requirement to attend a sexual internet offenders programme. It is not acceptable that you were not made an appointment for over a year. The judge expects his order to be swiftly complied with, not left for over a year. I expect a written explanation from the probation service."

Judge Linford continued: "While you had the deterrent of a suspended sentence, you did not have access to that programme to help with what your defence has called an addiction. A few months after the sentence was made you were downloading images, distributing them. You did not need a court to tell you that what you were doing was wrong, seriously wrong. I have seen the descriptions of the videos that you distributed. They are all illegal for you to possess, for you to watch, for you to make, certainly for you to distribute."

He added: "You are now taking steps to address what your defence has called an addiction. You have pleaded guilty as early as you could. I propose to activate on some part the suspended sentence."

Barnes pleaded guilty to three charges relating to the possession, distribution, and making of indecent images of children. Judge Linford sentenced him to a total of eighteen months imprisonment, of which he must serve at least half.