Man jailed on child porn charges

A 33-year-old man was yesterday sentenced to two years in jail.

He had previously pleaded guilty to possessing more than 135,000 pornographic images and 2,400 indecent video clips involving underaged persons.

The indictment contains updated figures, with 4,000 video clips. It says that the downloading of the footage took place between 2005 and 2016.

The defendant used a method of downloading which enabled other users to gain access to the material. In total, the man’s computer contained 207 GB of indecent images and videos.

The defendant told the court that he had endured a hard youth with a great deal of bullying, which resulted in him dropping out of school.

He said that he had tried to commit suicide three times in 2003-2006. Since then he has received psychological and sexual treatment and has been in a stable condition recently. He has returned to school and is planning to study further once this matter is concluded.

The prosecutor called for a two-year jail term, arguing that the man had been distributing child porn for a year, and that this was the most extreme and extensive case of its kind in the Faroes.

According to the defence, this was an unusual case, which only warranted a maximum of 20 months’ jail, part of which ought to be suspended.

Before sentence was passed, the defendant took to the stand, saying that he regretted what he had done.

The judge upheld the prosecutor’s contention, saying that there were no mitigating circumstances and sentenced the man to two years in prison.

The man accepted the sentence and will not appeal.

See also:

Most extreme case of its kind in the Faroes

Translated by prosa.fo