QC tells trial of eight accused men that web exchanges would make decent people physically sick
Jury told that online chatroom discussions were ‘depraved’
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Online chatroom discussions about underage sex were “depraved” and would make decent people “physically sick”, a court heard yesterday.
Prosecutor Dorothy Bain QC referred to the material as she summed up the evidence against one of eight men accused of possessing explicit images.
She told the High Court in Edinburgh that other web exchanges recovered “would make any decent person feel physically sick”.
Neil Strachan, 41, James Rennie, 38, Ross Webber, 27, Craig Boath, 24, Neil Campbell, 46, and John Milligan, 40, are charged with conspiring to meet to participate in sexual offences against children.
All six are also accused of child porn charges, as are Colin Slaven, 23, and John Murphy, 44. Ms Bain was speaking for the second day in a row as she continued her closing speech after eight weeks of evidence.
Referring to Webber, she said police investigations of his computer uncovered “numerous chatlogs”.
She said, as with other chatlogs, “there are no words that can be used to explain how awful they are”.
She said that although the words were reproduced from computer records, they had not arrived “from cyberspace”.
“They are written statements, just as a letter would be,” the QC said.
Ms Bain told the trial other online exchanges showed “the most depraved discussions” between Boath and Milligan.
“From these, the depth of Craig Boath’s interest in children became apparent, the extent of his offending was illuminated and what he expressed an interest in would make any decent person feel physically sick,” she said.
Yesterday’s hearing took place with seven of the eight accused present in court.
Lord Bannatyne told jurors that Slaven was unwell. The judge said Slaven’s counsel agreed that the trial could continue in his absence.
The court heard one of the accused men had described the person who abducted Madeleine McCann as a “lucky guy”.
The prosecutor told the court about a chatlog dating to May 2007, alleged to be between John Milligan and another man.
Ms Bain said the accused, referring to the missing girl, wrote “the guy that has her is a lucky guy”, and added: “I can just imagine what they are doing to her now.” The QC told the court: “To say that the man that took her is a lucky guy is truly extraordinary and demonstrative of what we are dealing with.”
Ms Bain urged the jury to convict the accused. She said previously each indecent image was a record of sexual assault on a real child.
The trial continues today with defence speeches.
