Dad sentenced to 16 month for child porn--but only half of that is in jail (United Kingdom)

Notice that dad MARK STONEMAN has been separated from the mother of his kids "for some time." Wonder if he will be getting custody/visitation as soon as things "blow over" a bit. These slime balls seem to be pretty successful at getting access, you know.

http://www.barryanddistrictnews.co.uk/news/latestnews/11643465.Father_of_two_jailed_for_having__horrific__abuse_images/

Father of two jailed for having "horrific" abuse images

First published Wednesday 3 December 2014 in News
Last updated 05:35 Thursday 4 December 2014 .

by Dominic Jones

A FATHER-of-two has been jailed after being found with hundreds of "horrific" images of child abuse.

At Newport Crown Court Mark Stoneman, 34, of Porthkerry Caravan Park, Rhoose, had asked to be spared a jail sentence in favour of treatment in the community. Judge William Gaskell told him: "I'm afraid that is an approach that is not only not attractive, but not likely", before jailing Stoneman for 16 months.

The court heard how Stoneman - who has been separated from his children's mother for some time - was tracked down as part of Operation Notarise, a UK wide police incentive which targeted users of peer to peer websites trading in child pornography.

When investigations found Stoneman to be a subscriber to one such website, he was arrested and had his home computer, iPhone and tablet seized.

On these devices police found 235 photographs and 89 movies of children being abused. Of these, 38 photos and 54 movies were "Category A" - the worst and highest classification.

Police also recovered 71 images of "extreme pornography". Stoneman initially gave a "no comment" police interview but later pleaded guilty to all charges.

Tim Naylor, defending Stoneman, told the court: "There isn't much in the way of mitigation, given the horrific material on his computer, phone and tablet.

"This was a bad period of his life where he was using alcohol and drugs, both of which he has resolved his issues with."

The court heard how Stoneman claimed to have initially looked at the images "out of curiosity" and it "spiralled" from there. He said he had experienced a sense of clarity since.

Mr Naylor said: "He thought, 'What if it was his own children in those images?'. He realised that what he was viewing was actually real life abuse, something at the time he didn't recognise.

"He's ashamed and disgusted with himself."

Stoneman had hoped to avoid a jail sentence in order to complete a three-year course of treatment for sexual offenders in the community, but Judge William Gaskell declined.

He told him that if he wanted to seek treatment he could do so after his 16 month sentence, half of which will be served behind bars.

Judge William Gaskell described and detailed some of the horrendous images Stoneman had viewed before telling him: "You downloaded these images for the purpose of getting sexual pleasure.

"You gave no mind to the fact that you were watching children who were being raped, who were the victims of sexual offences. you watched these children being abused for your pleasure.

"You won't get any 'good character' credit, because you aren't one."

The court heard how Stoneman had a list of previous offences including burglary, ABH, drink driving and battery.

In addition to the 16 month jail term, Stoneman was ordered to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years, to have his internet and computer use monitored upon release and to pay a £100 surcharge.