Sheffield business boss spared prison after police discover hundreds of child porn images on his laptop

Peter Garnham appeared before Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, December 15, after admitting five counts of making indecent images of a child, when police raided his home in September 2018.

The 66-year-old had evidence of 47 category A images on the laptop, 106 category B and 350 category C, and had also installed sophisticated spyware and decription technology installed on the machine in a bid to cover his tracks, the court was told.

Prosecuting, Ian Goldsack told the court that Garnham, of Whirlow Croft, Sheffield, had been interviewed twice by police but had answered ‘no comment’ on both occasions.

He said: “Police attended his house with a warrant at around 7.30am and he was present on the driveway and ready to go to work. He informed officers that his wife was present at the property when he was informed that they believed he had been looking at illicit child images.”

The laptop was installed with anti-forensic software which had been used around 80 times, and seven times on the morning the warrant was served, the court heard.

Garnham had attended a voluntary police interview later the same day where he refused to comment, and again in April this year after police were able to fully access his computer using their own technology.

Of the images recovered, the ages of children depicted ranged from two to 14, with the majority showing youngsters aged six to eight, the court heard.

Mitigating, Jeremy Lynn said that Garnham had hoped to stay in his role for another few years at the company, which was not identified in open court, but had retired to save the business embarrassment.

He said: “He had a realistic prospect of promotion to chief executive of another institution within his own group. But he decided instead to take early retirement because he wanted to spare his employers any embarrassment. This has been a spectacular fall from grace for him - it’s been a shameful and humiliating experience.

“His family were appalled when they found out what he had been arrested for, but they have decided to support him in the future through the process of his rehabilitation.”

Garnham had already entered voluntary programmes aimed at preventing him from offending again and had downloaded the majority of the images over a three-month period from early Summer 2018 and the point the police came to his home in September of the same year, Mr Lynn said.

Sentencing Garnham to a two-year community order, to include 40 rehabilitation activity days and 150 days of unpaid work, Judge Rachael Harrison told him he would be jailed if he appeared before her again.

“If you come back because you have committed another offence, or if you have not cooperated with the probation service, you will go to prison for 10 months, she told Garnham.

“You have lost your good character. If you come back before me you will lose your liberty.”

She also issued him with a sexual harm prevention order and ordered that the laptop be forfeited and destroyed.

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