November 2011

MP aide’s 12,000 kiddie abuse pics

THE agent of leading Labour MP Chris Bryant was jailed for three years yesterday for having an “appalling” hoard of vile child pornography.

Disgraced Stephen Carnell, who helped shadow Justice Minister Mr Bryant to victory in last year’s election, was caught with over 12,500 sick images and videos of children.

A court heard the 58-year-old former councillor and school governors’ chairman had amassed some of the most serious child porn police had ever seen.

He began downloading images eight years ago and grew obsessed with “disturbing and appalling” material.

When police called at his home in Tonypandy, Rhondda, he let them in saying: “The child pornography is on my laptops. I’ve been stupid.”

Prosecutor David Pugh told Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court that Carnell was using five laptops and file-sharing on the internet with other paedophiles.

Mr Pugh said a large number of the images were the most serious level four and five, showing “sexual activity with children, sadism and bestiality”.

In total the divorced father of two had amassed 12,130 images and 453 films featuring boys and girls from babies aged 12 months to 11-year-olds — yet he denied being attracted to children in real life.

Carnell had earlier admitted 47 charges relating to making, possessing and distributing indecent images.

Stephen Jury, defending, said he had previously been a hard-working man of good character and had co-operated with police since his arrest.

Jailing Carnell, Judge John Curran said the victims in the images had been “subjected to the most appalling abuse”. He also ordered him to register as a sex offender for life and banned him from ever working with children.

Carnell was official electoral agent for Mr Bryant when he won the Rhondda constituency with a 17,183 majority.

A spokesman for Mr Bryant said any comment would come from the party. Welsh Labour in Cardiff said Carnell had been expelled from the party immediately after his conviction.