BRITAIN: British police and children's charities have pledged that "no one is above the law", following the sentencing in England yesterday of a former Crown Court judge who admitted a string of child pornography offences.
David Selwood had previously pleaded guilty to 12 counts of making and one count of possessing indecent photographs of children in March and April this year.
The 70-year-old appeared at Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London and was told by Senior District Judge Timothy Workman he would be given a 12-month community rehabilitation order.
He was put on the sex offenders' register for five years after he admitted the charges last month, and orders were made today for forfeiture of the computers and photographs and for him to pay £55 costs.
He was told a condition to attend a sex offenders' programme would not be added as it was believed the necessary advice and guidance could best be provided through regular contact with a probation officer.
The judge was arrested in April following intelligence from the US concerning access to a child abuse website, and charged after police found 75 images of naked and semi-naked boys aged between eight and 14 on his laptop computer. West Midlands police were asked to investigate the allegations because some Hampshire officers had worked with him before.
Det Supt Jon Hesketh, who led the investigation, said Selwood had "disgraced" his position, and added: "No one is above the law, regardless of their role or position in life. I hope this case sends a clear message to the general public that the police will pursue and bring before the courts anyone who downloads images of child abuse, whatever their explanation."
A spokeswoman for the NSPCC said: "Behind these indecent images are real children who will have suffered immense trauma. Receiving or downloading abusive images of children perpetuates its production and reinforces the cycle of exploitation. "It is important to send out a strong warning to everyone, including those in all walks of life and professions, that they cannot remain anonymous and escape the law by using the internet to access abusive images of children."
Ms Natasha Finlayson, director of policy and communications at ChildLine, welcomed the way the legal system had dealt with the case, despite the images being classified as the least serious "level one".
"This clearly sends out the message that to possess these images is a serious crime. The message is also clear in this case that senior and influential figures in the judiciary are not above the law."
Selwood was made a circuit judge after a successful army career in which he had reached the rank of major general.
He was appointed a circuit judge in 1992 and was made resident judge at Portsmouth Crown Court in 1996, but stepped down on June 2nd this year. Yesterday's hearing was told "he does not have and never has had any sexual interest in children of either sex". - (PA)