Court 'clears' child porn expert

Christopher Bagley viewed the pornography for research purposes

An expert on child abuse and internet pornography has been cleared of downloading child porn for self-gratification.

A judge ruled former Southampton University professor Christopher Bagley had viewed the images for research.

Bagley, 66, of Sutton, south London, admitted 16 charges of making indecent images and was given a three-year conditional discharge.

The judge said Bagley had acted naively by failing to consult colleagues.

The whole procedure was entirely fair - I have no complaints Christopher Bagley

The sentence followed a two-day trial of issue at Portsmouth Crown Court to decide whether Bagley had a legitimate reason for accessing the images.

Bagley told the court images he downloaded were solely for research for academic papers he was writing on child abuse and the internet.

Judge John Selwood said: "I cannot be and I am not satisfied that the motivation for viewing the images was self-gratification and was not genuine research."

He also said of the professor: "He had shown arrogance and a certain naivety which had proved fairly lethal in this case."

Bagley said: "The whole procedure was entirely fair. I have no complaints. The judge made an appropriate ruling."

Bagley was suspended from the University of Southampton after police discovered he had paid for images on a website which was part of the Operation Ore investigation into child pornography.

He has since retired from the university.