PERVERT Robert Swanepoel was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for two years – despite having amassed a massive collection of around 450,000 child sex abuse images and videos.

Here’s why.

Charges

Swanepoel pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court in December to the following charges.

Making (i.e. possession) indecent images of children in category A – the most serious category, which includes depictions of acts like child rape.

Making indecent images of children in category B

Making indecent images of children in category C – with the vast majority of the images - 46,000 – in this category

Possession of prohibited images of children

Paedophile with with almost half a million child abuse images is spared jail
 

Sentence

The sentence he received on each charge was as follows:

For the category A images he received four months imprisonment.

For the category B images he was sentenced to three months imprisonment

For the category C charge he received six months. The maximum sentence one should receive under the guidelines published by the Sentencing Council is 26 weeks (or six months).

There was no separate penalty on the other charge.

Judge Jason Taylor QC, who sentenced Swanepoel at Swindon Crown Court on Friday, said he was taking the third charge – for the category C images – as the lead offence. This was because of the sheer number of images of this type in Swanepoel’s possession.

Because the collection was amassed over the same time period and on the same devices, Swanepoel’s sentences were ordered to be served concurrently. In other words, the sentences on the individual charges would be served at the same time rather than one after another.

Swanepoel pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity, earning him a 30 per cent reduction in his sentence.

Why was the prison sentence suspended?

Swanepoel’s six months sentence was suspended for two years. Under the terms of the suspended sentence order he must comply with a six month curfew and complete up to 40 rehabilitation sessions.

He will have to stay out of trouble in that time and make sure he complies with the order. If he doesn’t, he could be sent to prison for part or all of the six months to which he was originally sentenced.

Under the Sentencing Council guidelines, prison sentences of up to two years may be suspended if there is a realistic prospect the criminal can be rehabilitated and there are strong personal reasons why they should be spared jail, such as the impact on others.

In cases involving indecent images of children, rehabilitative courses aren’t always available in jail unless the prisoner gets a longer sentence. That’s why you sometimes see sex offenders handed three-year community orders rather than prison sentences – as the longer order means they can complete a more onerous rehabilitative course under the eye of the probation service.

In Swanepoel’s case, Judge Taylor said there was a realistic prospect he would be rehabilitated. It is possible that he will have to do a 1-1 course with a probation officer.

Swanepoel will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years. He was also made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, designed to limit his ability to access indecent images of children on the web.