A Wigan pensioner who admitted to making dozens of images of child abuse has been spared jail.


David Bowden, of Taylors Lane, Ince, faced three charges of creating indecent images of primary school-aged youngsters over a six-year period when he made his first appearance before a Bolton judge.

The pictures were assigned to all three legal categories of severity, including 47 which fall into category A: the most serious type.
The 65-year-old had also been accused of having made 19 category B and 26 category C images.

Because of the seriousness of the charges, Wigan and Leigh magistrates had previously committed Bowden to be dealt with by a judge and jury.

But the defendant admitted the crimes at the first opportunity when he appeared at the crown court.

The hearing was told that, acting on intelligence, police executed a search warrant at Bowden’s Ince home at 6.55am on September 13 2017.

Computer equipment was seized by officers and, after analysis of the hard drive was carried out by technical experts, files were found which included both moving and still indecent images of children, some of which were accessible, some of which were not.
The child abuse images involved youngsters thought to be aged between eight and 11 years.

Re-appearing before a judge at Bolton Crown Court, Bowden was put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years.
He was also given a two-year community order which includes restricting his computer use.


December 2018
Wigan pensioner caught with vile child abuse pics

A Wigan pensioner has admitted to making dozens of vile child porn images.

David Bowden, 65, of Taylors Lane, Ince, faced three charges of creating indecent images of primary school-aged youngsters over a six-year period when he made his first appearance before a Bolton judge.

The pictures were assigned to all three legal categories of severity, including 47 which fall into category A: the most serious type.
He was also accused of having made 19 category B and 26 category C images.

Because of the seriousness of the charges, Wigan magistrates had previously committed Bowden to be dealt with by a judge and jury.
But the defendant admitted the crimes at the first opportunity in the upper court.

The hearing was told that, acting on intelligence, police executed a search warrant at Bowden’s home at 6.55am on September 13 2017.
Computer equipment was seized and, after analysis of the hard drive by technical experts, files were found which included both moving and still images, some of which were accessible, some of which were not.

The child abuse images involved youngsters thought to be aged between eight and 11 years.

Bowden was released on bail pending a further appearance at the crown court on Friday December 21 when he is due to be sentenced.