A former BBC director caught with lots of of indecent photos of kids has tried to ‘wriggle out’ of accountability by claiming they had been downloaded accidentally, a court docket heard.
Victor Melleney, 76, who labored on reveals together with Query Time and Panorama, has admitted he was hooked on authorized pornography however claims he has little interest in indecent photos of kids.
832 indecent photos of kids had been discovered saved throughout Melleny’s laptop computer, desktop, two exhausting drives and a WIFI dongle between Could 2011 and October 2018.
Nationwide Crime Company officers had been greeted by Melleney and his spouse in Sheffield Terrace, Kensington at 7am on 15 October 2018.
Melleney was sporting a lightweight colored dressing robe and probably the most ‘damning proof’ got here from a conveyable silver hard-drive later present in one of many pockets.
Former BBC director Victor Melleney, 76, (pictured) who was caught with lots of of indecent photos of kids has tried to ‘wriggle out’ of accountability by claiming they had been downloaded accidentally, a court docket heard
Kingston Crown Courtroom heard 612 of the overall 832 photos had been discovered on the drive however Melleney insisted he had no concept how the unlawful materials acquired there.
Paul Douglass, prosecuting, informed the jury Melleney’s proof about how the indecent photos acquired onto his exhausting drives didn’t stand as much as scrutiny, and that the pictures weren’t a ‘needle in a haystack’ on his units.
Mr Douglass stated in his closing speech: ‘He was requested concerning the movies on the G drive and he stated nothing.
‘He’s requested concerning the presence of search time period “Pre-teen.”
He stated: “It might need come from minimize and paste”
‘He’s requested “Would you propose to take a look at indecent photos of kids?” “Clearly not.”
Kingston Crown Courtroom (pictured) heard 832 indecent photos of kids had been discovered saved throughout Melleny’s laptop computer, desktop, two exhausting drives and a WIFI dongle between Could 2011 and October 2018
‘It’s a flat lie, isn’t it? “Pre-teen” how did it get on there? “I don’t know, the system put it there”.
‘That’s what he tried to inform you, however you recognize that the system didn’t put it there, he put it there.
‘He’s requested about what was he doing downloading onto his units and what does he say about it? “I don’t know the way it acquired there”.
‘Why? It didn’t get there by itself, did it, somebody put it there. Who else?
‘It reveals that the rationale for the appliance downloading all of that materials is as a result of he has been on the lookout for it.
‘All of those efforts to wriggle out of this, and solid the blame on Vuze [the application used to download the files] which had nothing to do with it, it’s all to do with the kind of materials he downloaded,
‘That’s as a result of he has been caught red-handed, and he’s mendacity to you, women and gents.’
Melleney has admitted he was hooked on authorized pornography however claims he has little interest in indecent photos of kids
Roughly 4 per cent of the house on the units was taken up by indecent photos of kids, the jury heard.
Kieran Vaughan, for Melleney, stated: ‘Members of the jury, it has been a brief trial.
‘We ask you to not confuse brevity for seriousness. For Mr Melleney it’s an important factor to occur for him in his 76 years.
‘It isn’t simply concerning the counts within the indictment, it’s about his complete status, and the way he will likely be remembered.
‘You will notice Mr Melleney is not any Invoice Gates, he’s no pc whizzkid, he is aware of tips on how to seek for issues on the web, and obtain materials.
‘He’s utilizing a really complicated utility, and that’s the reason he’s within the place he finds himself in.
‘It’s no coincidence in any respect, in anyway, that the offending materials we’re involved with has all come from one supply, and that’s Vuze.
‘If it is perhaps proper, he’s entitled to be acquitted.
‘Vuze is harmful. It’s harmful in case you are not pc literate, and have no idea what you might be doing.
‘The true blemish on his character has been uncovered for the world to see, as a result of he needed to confess to an dependancy to grownup pornography.
‘The explanation he’s right here is due to the vagaries of the Vuze system that we have now put earlier than you.
‘If that’s proper, or is perhaps proper, we are saying that the correct verdict is one among Not Responsible.’
Melleney earlier informed the court docket his porn dependancy started after he retired from working with the BBC in 1996/1997 whereas his youngsters had been at college.
Melleney denies making indecent photos of kids, possessing prohibited photos of kids, possessing an excessive video of intercourse with an animal and possessing a prohibited pornographic picture.
The trial continues with Mr Justice Bryan summing up the proof to the jury.