THE COURT of Criminal Appeal has halved the three-year jail sentence imposed on a computer programmer who downloaded almost 16,000 child pornography images including images of children as young as four.
The three-judge court reduced the sentence on grounds the sentencing judge had not fully taken into account a detailed medical report which indicated a brain injury sustained by Gary Smith (45) in a road traffic accident had contributed to his deviant behaviour.
Smith, of Ashbrook, Pearse Road, Sligo, was jailed last March at Sligo Circuit Criminal Court for three years after he pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography at his home on January 11th, 2007.
Judge Anthony Kennedy also ordered Smith be placed on the sex offenders' register for five years and get post-release supervision. Smith appealed against the severity to the court yesterday and the DPP opposed the appeal.
The three-judge appeal court, with Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns presiding and sitting with Mr Justice Declan Budd and Mr Justice George Birmingham, said it would reduce the sentence to 18 months in prison and suspend the final 18 months. The remainder of the original sentence was left undisturbed.
While Judge Kennedy had correctly imposed a custodial sentence for this "very serious offence", the court believed the three-year term was excessive, Mr Justice Kearns said.
The judge said a three-year prison term would not have been imposed if a medical report stating that Smith's addictive behaviour could be linked to brain damage he suffered in an accident had been fully taken into account.