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Offender Databases Colin Wootton

Colin Charles Wootton

Alias

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Offences

Possession and redistribution of more than 3000 images of child pornography, including images of beastiality, abuse and sadism mostly involving prepubescent girls.

Victims

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Offender Affiliations

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Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1963

Current Location

Was on "home detention" in Christchurch

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to 8 months home detention with special conditions, 160 hours of community work with authorisation to convert some of the time to training in April 2009

Background
NZ Herald story here
From Christchurch Press story 4th April 2009
A Christchurch man who was busted with more than 3000 "disgusting and repugnant" child sexual abuse images on his computer has been given eight months' home detention.

Colin Charles Wootton, 46, appeared in the Christchurch District Court yesterday for sentencing on 29 charges of distribution and possession of child sex abuse images. Wootton was caught in 2007 after an inspector with the Department of Internal Affairs was monitoring the Internet for child sex publication offenders. Christchurch District Court Judge Brian Callaghan said some of the imagesalmost sent "quivers down his spine".

"Words sometimes escape judges to put proper adjectives to the type of images I have had to view." There was a total of 3370 files - some of the files were available for sharing with other users - involving bestiality, sexual abuse and sadism of mostly pre-pubescent girls. Some of the images showed the children were greatly distressed, he said.

"As an end-user you became complicit in the abuse of young girls," the judge told Wootton. The youngest child involved was a three-month-old female baby. Crown prosecutor Marcus Zintl said some of the images were particularly disturbing and repugnant, and home detention was not an appropriate sentence. "This offence occurred in the home. Some occurred when his parents were in bed, in private with a level of secrecy."

Defence counsel James Rapley said Wootton, who still lived with his parents, had taken full responsibility for his offending and had done about one year worth of counselling and was prepared to do more. He was considered a low risk of re-offending. Mitigating factors included early guilty pleas, his remorse and willingness to continue with treatment, and personal circumstances, the judge said.

"You appear to be a sad person in the sense you have never been able to develop adult heterosexual relationships. "I know in the community some people hold the belief that people displaying this type of antisocial Behaviour should be locked up whatever the circumstance. It is a misconception in my view to say home detention is an easy sentence. If ever a judge can be reasonably confident a person will not re- offend in a similar matter, I think this is the case."

In addition to the home detention Wootton was ordered to complete 160 hours community work with authorisation to convert some of the time to training. The judge also ordered the confiscation and destruction of computer equipment used.

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Corrections and Additional Information
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