Protection of Children; Doctor's Sentence Sends Out a Contrary Message
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Summary
It is difficult, to say the least, to sympathise with Craig Morton, a 23-year-old doctor, or Sheriff Derek Pyle, before whom he appeared at Dundee sheriff court. Morton had pled guilty to downloading "sickening" pornographic images of young boys, but Sheriff Pyle admonished him yesterday, noting that the doctor planned a career in geriatrics, working with elderly people, and not paediatrics, working with children. The court heard that many pornographic images of boys aged between 14 and 16, downloaded by Morton in 1999 and discovered when police raided his parents' home two-and-a-half years later, were so disturbing that a paediatrician found the task of examining them too distressing to continue.
On the basis of the evidence, Morton has committed a very serious offence. Sheriff Pyle remarked that he planned a different medical career path from paediatrics, and spared him a custodial sentence or a fine and instead gave him a reprimand plus five years on the Sex Offenders' Register. The sheriff accepted that he was taking a risk, but it seems inequitable to have taken these particular professional circumstances into account when handing down a punishment.See the full content of this document
Extract
Protection of Children; Doctor's Sentence Sends Out a Contrary Message
The law makes no distinction in cases involving internet child pornography. In an important ruli...
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