A convicted paedophile found with over 200 indecent images of children has been spared jail so he can continue a course of medical treatment to cure his ‘sexual attraction to children’.
48 year–old Christopher Martin McGuinness appeared at Derry Crown Court this morning where he was convicted of 37 separate offences of possessing indecent photographs of children between May 27, 2011 and May 5, 2012.
The court was told that the charges arose from a search which was undertaken by police at the defendant’s home at Inishowen View, Greysteel on May 4, 2012.
The search was carried out in relation to other sexual offences, and police recovered items including a laptop and DVDs.
Police then found a total of 222 indecent images of children, 24 which were classified as Category 4, and two as Category 5, the most serious classification of such images.
The court heard that McGuinness had been convicted at Downpatrick court in September 2013 of seven counts of sexually assaulting girls aged under 13, as well as number of other child sex offences including making indecent images of children.
He was sentenced to four years in prison, two in custody and two on licence.
The court was told that McGuinness is currently on licence for those offences and is receiving ongoing medical treatment to address his ‘sexual attraction to children’.
Passing sentence, Judge Philip Babington said that it was ‘not in the public interest to interfere with such treatment’.
He added it would be ‘equally wrong’ if the defendant did not ‘receive sanction’ for what he described as a ‘disgusting’ offence and handed McGuinness, of Ventry Lane, Belfast, a sentence of eight months suspended for three years.
McGuinness was also placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for ten years and will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order.
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