Leamington man who tried to hide searching for indecent images avoids jail

Daniel Malin, 35, of Queensway, Leamington, used the language to try and conceal the fact he was searching for the incriminating material.

A judge at Warwick Crown Court heard that Malin asked whether, if he was jailed, his cell could be kept locked for 24 hours a day because he can’t stand mixing with other people.

But Malin was given a ten-month prison sentence suspended for two years after pleading guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children.

Judge Stephen Eyre QC also ordered him to take part in a rehabilitation activity for 40 days and to register as a sex offender for ten years.

Prosecutor John Brotherton said in March police executed a warrant at Malin’s family’s home and seized a computer from his bedroom.

He said: “The defendant had used Indonesian search terms, but when they were translated using Google translator, they came back with terms such as ‘young child porn.’ It was a clear attempt to avoid detection.”

Jamie Strong, defending, said that as well as a pre-sentence report, there was a helpful report from psychiatrist Dr Tom Clarke which showed Malin has Asperger’s syndrome.

He said: “He is someone who, over a number of years, has become increasingly withdrawn from society and from his family.

“He inhabits his own bedroom, which is painted completely black, almost 24/7.

“The contact he has with his own family is limited to one meal a day in the evening and he then retreats back into his room.

“He has asked that, if he goes to prison today, will they keep his cell locked 24 hours a day because he can’t stand being with other people.”

Of the offences, Mr Strong said that because of Malin’s Asperger’s: “once he sets a hare running, he follows it obsessively.”

But Judge Eyre said: “When you are lined up to be abused, the fact that the market is doing it because he’s following a hare that’s been set running doesn’t make any difference.”

Mr Strong pointed out that according to Dr Clarke, people with Asperger’s tend to respond to clear, concrete rules, which meant that Malin would be likely to comply with any non-custodial order.

Sentencing Malin, Judge Eyre said: “These are offences which have victims. The victims are children, often in the third world, who are induced or compelled into circumstances where they are abused.

“People like you who view those images create the market which causes those children to be victimised.

“I take into account your Asperger’s syndrome and your personal circumstances. They cannot be treated as some sort of get out of jail card, but they would mean that a prison sentence would be more severe for you than for other people.”