Pervert avoids jail after child sexual abuse images conviction


A MAN convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images has avoided going to prison.
Gary Oxford of Harvard Way, Amesbury, was convicted of downloading indecent videos of children – nearly three years after police confiscated his computer.
Oxford had videos featuring girls aged between eight and ten.
He was found guilty by a jury at Winchester Crown Court and Judge Keith Cutler sentenced him to six-months in jail, suspended for a year.
He must also sign the sex offenders register for seven years.
The court ordered the destruction of the hard drive on which the videos were found.
Police found the videos in password-protected “zip” folders.
Oxford, 58, denied the charges, saying he had no idea how the files came to be on his computer, nor how his own personal password had been used to secure them.
Another charge of possessing indecent images was dropped by the prosecution.
The court heard evidence from his wife and his ex-wife, who both said he was of good character.
Police went to Oxford’s home in July 2013 and confiscated his computer.
It was more than a year later, in August 2014, that officers sent the machine for examination.
And it was another year before Oxford first appeared in Crown Court.