Child molester Stephen Ian Rock was jailed for ten years, and the hundreds of pictures of underage children in sexually explicit positions he had were ordered destroyed by the No. 5A Supreme Court yesterday.
However, he will serve just over seven years after deductions were made.
The sentence was handed down by Justice Christopher Birch, who dismissed submissions by Rock’s attorneys that he could be given a non-custodial sentence.
“Given the nature of the charges for which Mr Rock was convicted and the circumstances in which they took place, Mr Rock cannot avoid a custodial sentence for the matters before the court,” Justice Birch said.
“A non-custodial sentence would serve not only to trivialise the trauma suffered by [the complainant] but would send a message to society at large that matters involving the exploitation of children are not given the due gravity they deserve.” (HLE)
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