Pervert St Austell had sickening images of children as young as 2 years old depicting pain and suffering

A Cornwall man has avoided jail despite being caught with hundreds of indecent images of children as young as two depicting pain and suffering. Christopher Hiscock, 30, was spared time behind bars because the judge said there was a “realistic possibility” he could be rehabilitated with the support of the necessary services.

Hiscock, of Graham Avenue, St Austell, appeared at Truro Crown Court today (Thursday, May 23) for sentencing after pleading guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children for the purpose of distribution or display , three counts of indecent images of children, one count of possession of extreme pornographic images and one count of possession of prohibited images of children.

Prosecuting the case, Philippa Harper told the court that in January 2021, Devon and Cornwall Police received a report that Hiscock had uploaded or shared the indecent images in group chats on social media platform Kik. She said checks were then carried out and found to match his details.

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The force then received a second alert in December 2021, informing them of a Dropbox account of indecent images being uploaded to the internet. Hiscock was arrested in January 2022 at his home address and officers seized a laptop and two mobile phones.

It was found that the two mobile phones contain indecent images of children between the ages of 2 and 15. In total, there were 281 category A photos – the most serious category depicting the pain and suffering of children – 186 category B and 67 category C. There were also four extreme pornographic images and 12 prohibited images of children.

Ms Harper said Hiscock admitted in his interview that images had been shared in group chats in the past and accepted he was linked to that social media activity. She added that when asked why she sent the images, she said she felt “pressured” by people to do so.

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Defending the case, Christopher Spencer told the court: “(Hiscock) chose to engage with a sharing site and it is as a result of his participation in this group that images were sent to him and others were able to access those images. from his device using the identified software.

“No evidence was found that he distributed images to a third party via email or text. Dropbox allows other people to send pictures to it or others to access the pictures on their device. It was identified because these images were found in circulation.”

Spencer also said Hiscock fully cooperated with police during the investigation and pleaded guilty to the offenses as soon as possible. He said he had also been waiting since January 2022 “to find out what was going to happen to him and was very anxious to wait for his day at the Crown Court”.

It was heard Hiscock also worked with the probation service, which Mr Spencer said indicated he would not “return to this type of offending”. Spencer added: “He got into it at a time when he was struggling with depression over the death of his brother.

“I don’t want to diminish Mr. Hiscock’s responsibility, but he was a passenger in this activity, he knowingly participated in it, but he was not a driving force. He didn’t appreciate seriousness, but now he does.”

Sentencing Hiscock, reporter Christopher Quinlan, KC, said that while Hiscock had co-operated with police and made an admission as soon as possible, there were a number of aggravating factors in the case, including the age and vulnerability of the children involved. He said: “Some of the children were very, very young indeed, aged between 2 and 15. There were also a large number of different victims and the images show the children’s visible pain or suffering.”

Recorder Quinlan added: “You have no previous convictions so I am treating you as having a clean character. You cooperated with the police and waited a long time to be convicted. You are not responsible for contributing to this delay.

“You are not well. You have your own problems and your life has not been without its challenges. You have few friends, physical health is not good. However, you have to understand that in those images there are real children who suffered and even though you did not commit the child sex crimes, people like you are feeding the market with such filth.

“The crimes you have admitted to are so serious that they cross the threshold of imprisonment. But I am convinced that there is a realistic possibility of rehabilitation.”

Hiscock was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years. He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to complete an accredited sex offender program as well as 55 days of rehabilitation activity.