Portadown teenager Evan McLaughlin jailed over ‘extremely disturbing’ child sex videos
A teenager who possessed and shared “extremely disturbing” indecent images of children and babies has been handed an 18-month sentence.
In addition to ordering 19-year-old Evan McLaughlin to serve half his sentence in custody and half on licence, Judge Patrick Lynch KC also imposed a 10-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.
Sentencing the Portadown man at Craigavon Crown Court, the judge revealed that amongst the videos and images McLaughlin was caught with, the teenager had possessed and had shared videos of babies and toddlers being raped while tied to a bed.
McLaughlin, from Mandeville Manor, had earlier entered guilty pleas to 27 offences including 20 counts of possessing indecent images of children, three each of having extreme pornography and prohibited images of children and a single charge of distributing indecent images of children between May 22, 2021 and January 11, 2023.
Prosecuting counsel Ian Tannahill told the court how police from the internet child protection team seized an iPhone and a computer when they searched McLaughlin’s home in January last year.
The court heard when those devices were examined cops uncovered 1,286 illegal files consisting of both videos and still images and that almost 400 had been categorised at level A, the most serious category which depicts penetrative sexual acts and sadism involving children.
Commenting that many of the files are of a “very distressing nature”, the barrister disclosed how some of the files contained images of a baby being raped, another being sexually assault and a toddler involved in bestiality with a dog.
Unsurprisingly, Mr Tannahill said it was clear there was “pain and suffering” visibly etched on the faces of the very young children, a factor which could be taken as an extra aggravating factor in the case.
The examination of the computer hard drive also revealed that McLaughlin had been distributing images with other individuals where he declared “I have seen it all mate - seen it and have it all.”
He further exclaimed that he had “thousands” of files to share with others in the online chat group, stating that he had “the good stuff - like the stuff that 18+ girls do but when they’re like 12, that is so hot!”
The court also heard that Mclaughlin had a police caution for similar offences and defence counsel Aaron Thompson revealed that was when he was on holiday and a 15-year-old girl had sent him a topless photo when he then sent to her family.
Mr Thompson emphasised that despite the extensive and sickening material McLaughlin had, the last offence was at a time when he himself was just 17 years old.
He also submitted that since his initial arrest, McLaughlin has paid something of a price in that he “is a social pariah” who has been ostracised by his friends and extended family and his only outlet was his job in valeting cars.
Jailing McLaughlin, Judge Lynch told the court that “one would have thought the police caution would have been a shot across his bows” but that despite defence submissions not to jail the defendant, the guidelines were clear in that images involving babies and toddlers are “particularly repugnant” and that distribution of same warranted immediate jail sentences.