Man cleared in child porn case on appeal (From Echo)
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Man cleared in child porn case on appeal
2:28pm Monday 13th February 2012 in News By Jacqueline McMillan
A MAN who was found guilty of having child pornography on his computer, has been cleared on appeal by the country’s top judge.
John Leonard, 66, of Creek Road, Canvey, was given a suspended sentence at Snaresbrook Crown Court, in London, after being found guilty by a majority verdict of possessing three indecent images of children.
His convictions, in May last year, have been overturned by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, who declared them unsafe because the trial judge misdirected the jury.
The court heard police raided Mr Leonard’s home at 6.30am on October 30, 2009, and seized a computer in his living room.
After an interrogation of the computer by a forensic expert, four indecent images of children were retrieved.
Lord Judge told the court three of the images were in temporary internet files and the other was found in a file that is used during a system restore.
Lord Judge said the location of the images suggested they had been deleted and could only have been recovered by someone with specialist computer skills or specialist software Mr Leonard did not have.
The court heard Mr Leonard was a retired, married man of good character.
Mr Leonard’s lawyers argued his convictions were “unsafe” and claimed the trial judge’s directions wrongly led the jury to believe they had to find him guilty, simply because the images had been discovered on his computer.
Allowing the appeal and quashing the convictions, Lord Judge said the directions given did not address the question of whether Mr Leonard was capable of retrieving the images, which was the central issue in the case.
Lord Judge, sitting with Mr Justice Field and Mr Justice Maddison, added: “The flaws in the summing-up seem to us to lead to the conclusion that the convictions are unsafe.”
Comments(51)
Turk2045
says...
4:07pm Mon 13 Feb 12
And scan your computer at least once a week..
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
4:08pm Mon 13 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
4:32pm Mon 13 Feb 12
APR
says...
4:48pm Mon 13 Feb 12
Drives can be sent to places like Martlesham, where they have data retrieval experts.
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
5:18pm Mon 13 Feb 12
John the resonator
says...
5:29pm Mon 13 Feb 12
I was even reading about ukuleles the other day (innocuous enough topic one might think) and found myself being invited to meet lovely Asian girls (no I can't see the connection either). I suppose a couple of ill-advised clicks in that direction would have steered me into the heart of p o r n s v i l l e . So does all that garbage live on in my computer?
Brunning999
says...
5:37pm Mon 13 Feb 12
John the resonator wrote:What do you mean by ' things coming up' is that when you browse **** sites ?
OK I'm not such a great computer expert. What worries me is how easy it is to get things coming up when you are browsing some topic.
I was even reading about ukuleles the other day (innocuous enough topic one might think) and found myself being invited to meet lovely Asian girls (no I can't see the connection either). I suppose a couple of ill-advised clicks in that direction would have steered me into the heart of p o r n s v i l l e . So does all that garbage live on in my computer?
Because that is normal.
sharry
says...
5:55pm Mon 13 Feb 12
John the resonator
says...
6:18pm Mon 13 Feb 12
Brunning999 wrote:No not browsing p o r n sites.
John the resonator wrote:What do you mean by ' things coming up' is that when you browse **** sites ?
OK I'm not such a great computer expert. What worries me is how easy it is to get things coming up when you are browsing some topic.
I was even reading about ukuleles the other day (innocuous enough topic one might think) and found myself being invited to meet lovely Asian girls (no I can't see the connection either). I suppose a couple of ill-advised clicks in that direction would have steered me into the heart of p o r n s v i l l e . So does all that garbage live on in my computer?
Because that is normal.
Youtube videos (I listen to a lot of music) do it the most. Either in the little advert box at the bottom of the video screen or down the sidebar. I suppose it might be picking up words in my search criteria and making tenuous connections.
John the resonator
says...
6:21pm Mon 13 Feb 12
I've led such a sheltered life you know ;0)
.
see what i mean
says...
9:27pm Mon 13 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
10:08pm Mon 13 Feb 12
see what i mean
says...
11:26pm Mon 13 Feb 12
APR
says...
11:39pm Mon 13 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadyla£70 to get Windows re-installed, thats daylight robbery. It probably didn't need doing anyway. All her data will still be on the computer, just needs someone who knows what they are doing to fix it.
ne wrote:
i thought they could , i tell you what cant be recovered though, any emails in outlook express, i had a folder a couple of years ago called "Reference" deleted it in error, lost and gone forever, i dont know why it did not go in the recycle bin for me to get back ?? What is Martlesham.? as a friend today told me she got a virus in her new lap top took windows right out left her with her photos only, took it back to PC world they could not / would not get anything back, software not covered under guarantee, she having to pay£70 to get windows installed again but not with any of her stuff on it.
Not PC World. Try Argon computers, near the Anne Boleyn if you can't get someone you know to sort it.
At Martlesham in Suffolk (next to the A12) is BT's research centre. They do all sorts of weird stuff there.
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
10:14am Tue 14 Feb 12
Baker-Boy
says...
1:54pm Tue 14 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
2:16pm Tue 14 Feb 12
John the resonator
says...
3:09pm Tue 14 Feb 12
Pornographic images of children is not a victimless crime.
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
3:44pm Tue 14 Feb 12
The Cater Wood Creeper
says...
5:50pm Tue 14 Feb 12
Baker-Boy
says...
5:51pm Tue 14 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylaA court of law who had all the facts found this person not gulity. There justice has been served for the incorrect first result from the judge error. Therefore the law of the country say he Is an inicent Man so I hope he get back to hid normal life and this can all be put to the past
ne wrote:
What? who knows if justice was done?. Are you a friend of his?
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
6:29pm Tue 14 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
6:31pm Tue 14 Feb 12
John the resonator
says...
7:01pm Tue 14 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylaYou see. Elsewhere on here religion is being debated.
ne wrote:
John, man we agree !!
Just shows you miracles can happen!
;0)
.
see what i mean
says...
7:02pm Tue 14 Feb 12
Canvey48
says...
7:28pm Tue 14 Feb 12
Canvey48
says...
7:29pm Tue 14 Feb 12
The Cater Wood Creeper
says...
1:11pm Wed 15 Feb 12
and as for being a well respected man, anyone can all be well respected until caught out!
just like that 'nice' Doctor, Harold Shipman
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
1:35pm Wed 15 Feb 12
Baker-Boy
says...
1:43pm Thu 16 Feb 12
Canvey48 wrote:there no need to worry there. does the artical say he brought the computer from new. could have ealisy been picked up at a botot fair or ebay you need trust the court room had all the facts unlike this artical
I have never had anyinterest before in bothering to register to comment until tonight. I don't understand that the point seems to have been missed by the law and justice system, that surely it doesn't matter that the man doesn't have the computer know,edge to re access what he has deleted, but that he did delete it in the beginning!! I opulent retrieve info but I could certainly delete what I wanted to get rid of, and as for being a well respected man, anyone can all be well respected until caught out!
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
2:00pm Thu 16 Feb 12
The Cater Wood Creeper
says...
4:54pm Thu 16 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylahe might have got it from his local catholic priest.....
ne wrote:
yeah those are posibilities bet they were not fact though! ebay or bootfair?, daft if you do!I reckon !
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
8:59pm Thu 16 Feb 12
Baker-Boy
says...
1:10pm Fri 17 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylathere possiblities and there are a lot lot more that this story fails to inform the public about but nevertheless the court confirm he was a free man and should now be given the chance to live his life as one. people on here including me will never the full fact but let get every one to move on from this incident.
ne wrote:
yeah those are posibilities bet they were not fact though! ebay or bootfair?, daft if you do!I reckon !
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
1:18pm Fri 17 Feb 12
Hugh.Janus
says...
8:18pm Fri 17 Feb 12
TIF is a folder on Microsoft Windows where all your browsing of different websites goes into, a cache in other words. This allows such websites to load more quickly the next time they are visited, only changed content needs to be downloaded from the Internet; the unchanged data is available in the cache. It makes browsing quicker as the pages do not have to load everything. Despite the name 'temporary', the cache of a website remains stored on the hard disk until the user manually clears the cache.
So if you browse through pornsites, you will have websites and pictures stored on your computer which can easily be recovered. You did not ask them to be stored there, but they will be. My advice, always clear your TIF, its easy to do. Hope that helps
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
8:46pm Fri 17 Feb 12
Canvey48
says...
10:26pm Fri 17 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
10:47pm Fri 17 Feb 12
Lefty Cyclist Type
says...
10:53am Sat 18 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylaOr the computer was second-hand and the operating system had been restored. The story does say the images were where they would be if a system restore had been done.
ne wrote:
well I was gonna say either he had them on his computer or he didn't so was either guilty or,not, but the temporary files/deleted files beats me, I am no computer nerd/expert. ! People seem to get away with absoloutely everything these days after masses of money has been spent on the court cases!
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
11:02am Sat 18 Feb 12
Lefty Cyclist Type
says...
12:08pm Sat 18 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylaYes. In the UK we believe in innocent until proven guilty. We don't believe in guilt by rumour and gossip
ne wrote:
you really giving him the benefit of the doubt!
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
1:00pm Sat 18 Feb 12
Lefty Cyclist Type
says...
1:36pm Sat 18 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylaDid you read the story or just the headline? The conviction was unsafe, and he was cleared. In other words he is not guilty.
ne wrote:
ok, well then!! hope you're right!! don't forget there musta been some element of doubt, police don't come knocking on my door to check my computer , do they you ?? your "we" I bet you not speaking for a lot of people !! AND don't forget he was found guilty!!!!
The problem with cases like this is that the uneducated don't understand the law, or the issues. That is how we end up with mindless mobs smashing up a paediatrician's.
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
5:07pm Sat 18 Feb 12
!!! thanks . Regarding jury's if a judge is going to direct them is there any point in having them, Just hav I judge if he is is not gonna let them decide.!!! Perhaps the judge should have made him state if the comp was his from new, eh?? Thats about all I have to say, I think!! I am a lowly computer user, not a comp expert!!
Lefty Cyclist Type
says...
5:11pm Sat 18 Feb 12
http://bit.ly/yCd7R
That is what happens when people make judgements based on rumour and gossip.
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
5:53pm Sat 18 Feb 12
John the resonator
says...
9:46am Sun 19 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylaIf you are having trouble opening the file it is a story about mobs attacking suspected paedophiles in response to the News of the World campaign to 'out them.' It was connected to their campaign for 'Sarah's law' asking that anyone with sexual offences against children should be identified in their communities. It either drove paedophiles underground and also led to a number of cases of mistaken identity.
ne wrote:
sorry googled it ,could not come up with anything that looked likely??
The idiotic mob found out this female was a paeditrician, mistook that for paedophile and vandalised her home. How ignorant is that? Typical NOTW readers.
Mortified to hear there is now likely to be a Sunday Sun to replace the disgraced News of the World.
Plus ça change plus c'est la même chose.
That is easy to Google.
naughtyladyofshadylane
says...
11:20am Sun 19 Feb 12
John the resonator
says...
2:19pm Sun 19 Feb 12
naughtyladyofshadylaYou are welcome.
ne wrote:
Thank you John for your explanation of file I could not get to see, I do however think that "they" should be identified and one should know if "they" were living nearby!! Oh God, I did not hear of that story, how deplorabe! No to Sunday Sun. I did buy the last N of T W to see if it would/could be valuable in the future! Ha Ha !
I think it is a really difficult issue about public knowledge. If I could be confident of tracking systems I would be less worried but one does hear about paedophiles finding an address near to a school for example.
As a grandparent I would want to know but I am always aware there is another side. For example there is the exact thing in that article, i.e. vigilante mobs taking the law into their own hands. If that drives a sexual offender underground and out of contact with the authorities then it is hardly making the community a safer place for children.
There is also the justice aspect. If a sexual offender has served their sentence should they not be allowed to get on with their lives? Any idiotic mob of vigilantes might not be aware if that person has undergone some form of therapy in prison or is 100% remorseful. These factors would reduce the risk. What does increase risk of reoffending though is unmanageable stress. If someone has a mob frequently vandalising their home or chanting outside that will obviously be highly stressful.
The other thing is that a lot of people lump all sexual offenders against children together as if every one were a Robert Black, Roy Whiting or Ian Huntley. We don't lump someone who shoplifts from Tesco on the same level as someone, say who defrauded a pension fund of millions. As with any other crime there will be the world of difference between people such as those paedophile murderers I mentioned and, to take the complete opposite end of the scale a boy who was 16 at the time and put his hand up a 15 year old girl's skirt and was charged with indecent assault. Both will be recorded as sexual offenders against children and an ignorant mob might not know the difference or even be bothered to find out.
It might be that your new found friend Almeda the NSPCC volunteer would think I am protecting paedophiles. Not at all, perish the thought. And here is a spokesperson from the NSPCC itself speaking about her concerns on the piloting of 'Sarah's law.'
http://www.bbc.co.uk
/news/uk-10830496
As I have said elsewhere, these things do not lend themselves to simple answers.
legalb says...
3:54pm Mon 13 Feb 12