Jail for surgeon over child porn

A surgeon who downloaded images of child abuse while on duty has been jailed for four months.

Simon Swift, from Chiswick, west London, gave guilty pleas at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court to 24 charges of making indecent images of children.

The defence said he began downloading the images while working at a private Harley Street Clinic where he was often "bored and with nothing to do".

Some 77 pictures and 16 movies were found on Swift's computers.

It is a tragedy that affects the young victims whose bodies and minds are exploited Judge William Rose

Swift, who had since started working as a cardio-thoracic registrar at Harefield and Brompton Hospital, did not know that Scotland Yard's Crime Unit had been monitoring his online activities.

He used his wife's internet account to access the images of children, some as young as eight, being abused by adults.

Judge William Rose told Swift that his actions not only affected himself but his wife, friends, patients and employers.

He went on: "But above all it is a tragedy that affects the young victims whose bodies and minds are exploited to provide images of the nature that you downloaded."

The defence said Swift was now "horrified" by what he had done.