Shapers
07-11-2007, 07:35 PM
A MERSEYSIDE paedophile who downloaded 40,000 pornographic images of children was allowed into a Liverpool youth court to hear a child abuse case.
Ian Hobley was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years in April 2003.
But despite his conviction the 39-year-old secured a work experience placement with Cater Walsh court transcribers at the Liverpool crown court complex, where he was ordered to be locked up for a year.
No checks were carried out into the Wallasey pervert’s background, and in April this year he sat in the usually restricted youth court listening to harrowing evidence of an indecent assault suffered by a 14-year-old girl.
Last week the stint in court landed Hobley before Wirral magistrates where he was made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order.
It bans him from entering any court, unless part of proceedings, or from having any contact with children.
The Court Service today said the blunder was being treated seriously and an investigation was underway to determine how the father-of-two ended up in youth court.
The former computer engineer was originally arrested in 2003 after he used a workstation to download child porn.
Hobley claimed he was compiling a presentation for the prime minister underlining how easy it was to access the images.
He was charged and bailed to live with his mother-in-law who then saw him on a computer again and alerted police.
Officers were told he wanted to find out whether he was sexually aroused by children to get some peace of mind, and the images had disgusted him.
A courts spokesman said today: “Mr Hobley was not an employee of Her Majesty’s Court Service. He spent one day shadowing a company we use as a contractor.
“We are treating this matter extremely seriously and are taking it up with Cater Walsh.
“We will be speaking to them to make sure that more vigorous checks are carried out in future.”
Cater Walsh Ltd declined to comment.
news@liverpoolecho.co.uk
Ian Hobley was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years in April 2003.
But despite his conviction the 39-year-old secured a work experience placement with Cater Walsh court transcribers at the Liverpool crown court complex, where he was ordered to be locked up for a year.
No checks were carried out into the Wallasey pervert’s background, and in April this year he sat in the usually restricted youth court listening to harrowing evidence of an indecent assault suffered by a 14-year-old girl.
Last week the stint in court landed Hobley before Wirral magistrates where he was made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order.
It bans him from entering any court, unless part of proceedings, or from having any contact with children.
The Court Service today said the blunder was being treated seriously and an investigation was underway to determine how the father-of-two ended up in youth court.
The former computer engineer was originally arrested in 2003 after he used a workstation to download child porn.
Hobley claimed he was compiling a presentation for the prime minister underlining how easy it was to access the images.
He was charged and bailed to live with his mother-in-law who then saw him on a computer again and alerted police.
Officers were told he wanted to find out whether he was sexually aroused by children to get some peace of mind, and the images had disgusted him.
A courts spokesman said today: “Mr Hobley was not an employee of Her Majesty’s Court Service. He spent one day shadowing a company we use as a contractor.
“We are treating this matter extremely seriously and are taking it up with Cater Walsh.
“We will be speaking to them to make sure that more vigorous checks are carried out in future.”
Cater Walsh Ltd declined to comment.
news@liverpoolecho.co.uk