A MAN who was caught in possession of indecent images of children – and tried to blame his partner’s son – has been jailed for more than two years.
Daniel Martin John Aylward was arrested last summer after police officers searched his home and seized 14 devices.
They later found more than 1,000 indecent images of children aged between three and 14 on his phone, including 218 showing the most extreme forms of child abuse.
When questioned, the 45-year-old denied possessing the images or having a sexual interest in children – but said his partner’s son often visited the property and used the internet.
The innocent man was arrested and investigated before being released without charge.
Aylward later admitted possessing indecent images of children and was yesterday jailed for two years and two months by the Royal Court and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.
Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam, prosecuting, said Aylward had first been investigated in 2021 and now admits that he was downloading indecent images at the time.
On 19 July 2023, police officers searched Aylward’s home, seized his devices and arrested him.
Explaining the impact of Aylward’s false allegations, Crown Advocate Lauren Hallam said: “The son was investigated.
“This included him being arrested, a warrant being executed at his address, and being kept in custody and interviewed.
“Had the defendant been honest in interview, all of this would have been avoided.”
Julia-Anne Dix, defending, said: “It is clear that Mr Aylward is burdened by the guilt and shame as to the offences which he has committed.”
Aylward said he had downloaded the pictures when he was feeling vulnerable and only looked at them briefly before deleting them, the court heard.
He was assessed as being at low risk of reoffending.
Delivering the sentence, Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae said that trying to blame an innocent man was a serious aggravating factor.
He added: “He was arrested, interviewed and investigated.
“Had you been honest, this would not have happened to him.”
In a statement, DS Jim McGranahan said: “When people view and download images on their computers, then vulnerable children and people around the globe become the victims of exploitation.
“We will do whatever is in our power to bring offenders to justice and place them before the courts in Jersey, to safeguard those at home and abroad.”
The Jurats sitting were Karen Le Cornu and Michael Entwistle.
