Wheelchair-bound man fined for possessing extreme pornography

A wheelchair-bound man was told he had brought 'shame' on his wife after appearing in court for possessing extreme pornographic images.

Bryan Flack, 71, of Scotia Road in Burslem, Stoke, was already on the Sex Offenders' Register before he was arrested for downloading images of people having sex with a horse and a dog.

Due to his suffering from lung cancer, Parkinson's and kidney and heart failure, magistrates could only hand Flack a fine.

Flack, who had previously been imprisoned for sexual assault, admitted to possessing extreme pornographic images at North Staffordshire Justice Centre.

His wife wheeled him into court, where magistrates told him: "Whatever punishment we impose, the main punishment is the shame you have imposed on your wife. The only option is a fine."

Prosecutor Zaine Riaz said: "The defendant is a registered sex offender and is on the register until 2027. He was visited by a manager of the sex offenders' probation service for a routine check. He provided his mobile phone. He appeared to be nervous. "The officer saw videos of animals and humans engaging in sex acts with each other. He was arrested. Eighteen images were found. He admitted the content. He's not sure why he accessed the content."

The images were discovered in March 2022.

Andrew Turnock, mitigating, said: "A lot has happened in terms of his physical health and its deterioration since then. He's in terrible physical state. He is dependent on his wife for his care. "Whatever was going on a year ago has changed dramatically. He has no access to any devices and he's not physically able to operate a device. He poses no risk of further offending and little risk of causing any harm."

Magistrates fined Flack a total of £465.