Judge's attack on internet sex sites

Police found 180 images of children on home computer

A judge at Cardiff Crown Court has condemned the "disgraceful" exploitation of young girls on the internet.

Judge Peter Jacobs warned that people who view the illegal pictures are supporting the child sex industry.

Who are these girls? Some man is behind these pictures, some man is making money from these poor girls

Judge Peter Jacobs

He spoke out during the case of 43-year-old Michael Conjoice who had stored over 180 photographs of under age girls on his home computer.

He admitted eight charges of making indecent photographs of young children and was given 80 hours community service, and ordered to pay £900.

The court was told that police raided Conjoice's home in Cwmbran, south Wales after information was passed on to them regarding his illegal hoard.

Detectives confiscated his computer and found a gallery of "under-developed" children on the hard drive of the machine.

Sentencing Conjoice, Judge Jacobs said: "The photos are of girls plainly under age performing explicit acts.

"These aren't even developed people - they are being exploited.

Over three million logon to pornography sites

"Who are these girls? Some man is behind these pictures, some man is making money from these poor girls, " he added.

"You should be ashamed - it is disgraceful."

Research has shown that more than a third of internet users in the UK regularly visit pornographic internet sites.

A survey by NetValue last June, which measures internet activity, found that 3.6 million people in Britain log on to adult websites.

The worst offenders were students who account for a fifth of all visits to pornographic sites.

But psychologists have warned that a compulsive need for "cybersex" can choke the life out of marriages and partnerships.

They claim addiction to it should be treated seriously and required therapy, the same as eating or personality disorders.

NetValue bases its estimates on a sample of 1,600 British surfers and measures overall numbers via a wider telephone survey of homes.