January 2023

Man from Basingstoke escapes jail after caught with images of children

A 57-year-old man who was caught with indecent images of children has escaped a prison sentence. 

David Downie, who now lives in Eggington, Leighton Buzzard, pleaded guilty to four charges of possessing indecent and prohibited photographs of children when he was living in Basingstoke.

He was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months, at Winchester Crown Court on Friday, December 6.

Downie was given a sexual harm prevention order.

He was also ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work, pay a fine of £425, and attend rehabilitation activities

Downie committed the offences over a period of four years from September 7, 2016, to May 25, 2020. The photos were of Category A, B and C – Category A being the worst kind.

Prosecuting Roderick Blain said police went to Downie’s address on June 20, 2020, and seized a number of electronic devices. He initially denied possessing the images.

The judge heard that the photos included indecent images of children as young as six months old.

Sentencing, the judge said the court must send out a message that it doesn’t tolerate child abuse.

He told Downie: “These images are horrible. There are people who abuse children to make such images. They will continue to do it as long as there is an audience for these images, and people like you represent the audience.”