A 55-year old grandmother who encouraged a man to send her indecent images of children was made the subject of a three-year Probation Order on Friday.
Christine Malone - who was also caught in possession of images where children were being sexually abused - will be on the Sex Offenders Register for a five-year period.
The former sex worker was sentenced by Judge Geoffrey Miller KC who said Malone “engaged in highly sexualised and utterly vile discussions” with the male about “the sexual abuse of children, some as young as three years of age”.
With an address at Green Road in Conlig on the outskirts of Bangor, Malone’s offending spanned a period from May 26 to August 23, 2014 and included sharing indecent images with the man she was in contact with.
Downpatrick Crown Court, sitting in Belfast, heard online discussions between Malone and the Lurgan man related to the abuse of children and what they would do to them. After encouraging him to send her videos and images, Malone asked if he had any where ‘kids and adults were at each other’ while she also asked him ‘are you uploading some juicy vids for me?’.
Describing the conversations as “graphic in the extreme”, Judge Miller said they “gave rise to the deepest possible concerns of appalling, distorted and reprehensible paedophilic thinking”.
The court was told the Lurgan man is the subject of a police investigation and that he fled Northern Ireland, is now living in the Netherlands and Extradition proceedings may be launched.
When Malone’s offending first emerged in 2017, social services became involved and following a detailed investigation, it emerged none of her children or grandchildren has been sexually abused by her.
Judge Miller said it was also confirmed that the indecent images of children being abused which Malone possessed were “generic images available on paedophile websites” and were not of children she knew or had contact with.
She was arrested on March 19, 2017 and interviewed the following day when she told police she had an interest in online porn.
Malone said she helped look after her two grandchildren, and when asked if she had any other contact with children or was involved in any youth groups, she said: “I actually hate kids and don’t know why I had them myself.”
During the 2017 interview, she also initially denied knowing the Lurgan man, denied discussing the sexual abuse of children in chatroom and could not recall receiving any images of children.
She subsequently pleaded guilty to encouraging or assisting an offence to be committed by requesting the male to send her indecent images on dates between May 26 and August 23, 2014. In addition, she admitted six separate charges of possessing indecent images on July 17, 2014.
Judge Miller said he had considered defence submissions made on behalf of Malone, which set out her unsettled childhood and the remorse she has expressed for her offending behaviour.
Also noted was the “lonely and isolated” life she now leads and a lack of relevant offending both before and after 2017.
The Judge said: “It is apparent that at the relevant time she was living in a highly sexualised world, making a living as a sex worker and selling photos of herself.”
Branding the online chats as “utterly reprehensible”, the Judge said they “represented fantasy on her part”.
Addressing Malone as she stood in the dock, Judge Miller imposed the three-year Probation Order and told her to complete any programmes recommended by her Probation Officer.
She was also warned that a failure to comply with the Order would result in a return to court and the “real prospect” of a prison sentence.
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