Prison after blaming 1,000 indecent child images on innocent man

Monday 17 June 2024

A 45-year-old man who had more than 1,000 indecent images of children as young as three on his phone initially blamed another young man – who was arrested, held in custody and investigated before being released.

Daniel Martin John Aylward was sentenced to two years and two months in prison by the Royal Court in Jersey today.

On his phone, police had found 218 images classified as Class A, the most serious, as well as 307 class B images and 624 class C images, which he had accessed over a period of over two years.

They showed boys and girls between the ages of three and 14.

Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam, prosecuting, said Aylward had first been investigated in 2021 and now admits that he was making indecent images at the time.

On 19 July 2023, police officers searched Aylward's home, seized 14 devices and arrested him. They later found indecent images on his phone.

But, at interview, Aylward denied having the images or having a sexual interest in children and blamed a 21-year-old man often visited the property and used the internet there.

"As a result... [they] were investigated," Crown Advocate Hallam said.

"This included him being arrested, a warrant being executed at his address, and being kept in custody and interviewed.

"Had the defendant been honest in interview, all of this would have been avoided."

Aylward pleaded guilty in the Magistrate's Court to three charges of making indecent images.

Julia-Anne Dix, defending, said: "It is clear that Mr Aylward is burdened by the guilt and shame as to the offences which he has committed."

Aylward had said he downloaded the pictures when he was feeling vulnerable and only looked at them briefly before deleting them, the court heard.

He was assessed as being at low risk of reoffending.

He was sentenced to two years and two months in prison and was put on the sex offenders register for five years. He was served a four-year restrictive order and his phone is to be destroyed.

Delivering the sentence, Deputy Baliff Robert MacRae said that blaming his actions on the 21-year-old was a serious aggravating factor.

He added: "He was arrested, interviewed and investigated. Had you been honest, this would not have happened to him."

DS Jim McGranahan said the police held protecting the public – and especially vulnerable people – as "a main focus and priority".

“When people view and download images on their computers, then vulnerable children and people around the globe become the victims of exploitation," he added.

"We will do whatever is in our power to bring offenders to justice and place them before the courts in Jersey, to safeguard those at home and abroad.”

The Jurats sitting were Karen Dawn Le Cornu and Michael Brian Paul Entwistle.