Ex-nurse jailed over child porn

The sentence is intended as a deterrent

A former nurse has been jailed for six months for possessing and making indecent pictures of children.

Graham Brown, of Brentwood in Essex, pleaded guilty to the charges at Basildon Crown Court.

Some of the pictures were held in shared folders that could be viewed by others on the internet.

Judge Zoe Smith said the fact that the images could be passed on "perpetrates abuse of these children indefinitely".

The collection of (images) in shared folders is of particular concern because it enables these images to be passed on and on

Judge Zoe Smith

Brown, who is married, had worked for six years at Oldchurch Hospital in Romford, Essex.

The court heard that police searched his home in relation to a different matter in July 2001 and seized his computer.

An expert found 27 indecent images of children on it.

Christopher Paxton, prosecuting, described the programme as enabling "a swap shop to allow individuals to view these images if they are interested in them".

The court was told that the act of downloading the pictures resulted in the charge of making the images.

Brown, 44, was also charged with possessing indecent computer images of children, and possessing the images with a view to distributing them.

Judge Zoe Smith said: "It's the collection of them in shared folders which is of particular concern because it enables these images to be passed on and on.

"As a result it perpetrates abuse of these children indefinitely."

She said the sentence was intended to deter others.