Man avoids jail after being caught with indecent images

A 20-year-old from Radlett who was caught with 250 indecent movies and images of children is to go on a sex offender treatment programme. William Hayter was given a chance by a judge at St Albans Crown Court, who told him he had a future ahead of him if he stopped looking at child sex abuse images. Prosecutor Will Noble told the court on Friday that the police raided his home on 27 May 2014. His computer equipment was seized and examined. There were 52 movies at Category A, the most serious level, 191 at B and two at C, the least serious level. There were five Category A images, four at B and two at C. Chat logs also revealed he had sexually inappropriate chats with 14 and 15 year olds. The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to downloading indecent images. Alex Brittain, defending, said his client was in full time employment as an apprentice IT engineer and asked the judge to pass a sentence that would allow him to be treated in the community. Judge Andrew Bright QC passed a three year Community Order, with conditions that he attends a Community Sex Offender Treatment Programme and is supervised for three years. He was also ordered to pay £250 costs. The judge told him: “I hope you realise you have an opportunity. You have a future ahead of you and a lot to offer. Steer clear of this kind of material.”