In 2018, the Offender Database reported that Gordon Dreghorn, the Accrington Paedophile Sex Offender, previously convicted, who clandestinely photographed young girls’ skirts in Piccadilly Gardens, was acquitted in court.
Gordon Dreghorn, then 48, audaciously traversed the renowned city centre location with a camera, capturing images of the undergarments of minors, one of whom was a four-year-old.
Nonetheless, he was not incarcerated, as a court stated that Gordon Dreghorn, who had himself been ‘horrifically’ mistreated during childhood, ‘required assistance.’
He was apprehended and brought before the judiciary in August after being observed loitering in Piccadilly Gardens, a locale favoured by families due to its playground and fountains.
Gordon Dreghorn, a resident of Accrington in Lancashire, elicited the suspicions of certain members of the public who were ‘concerned about his activities’ and subsequently alerted local law enforcement, as stated by prosecutor William Donnelly before Manchester Crown Court.
CCTV operators commenced surveillance on him, observing him as he walked away and ‘concealed’ an object by inserting it inside his sock, Mr Donnelly stated.
Officers pursued him, resulting in his apprehension and search, during which a memory card from a camera was discovered within his sock.
He was apprehended, and the memory card, together with his mobile device, was confiscated.
A snapshot of an unidentified girl, estimated to be between nine and ten years old, was discovered on the memory card.
Mr Donnelly stated that she seemed to be fastening her shoelace, and the photograph was captured from an angle beneath her skirt.
A comparable photograph was found on the phone, depicting a somewhat younger girl, approximately four years old.
Gordon Dreghorn was indicted and subsequently entered a guilty plea at a prior hearing to two counts of possessing indecent pictures of minors.
In 2003, he received a three-year prison sentence after being convicted of acquiring and disseminating indecent photos of children the preceding year.
Judge Martin Rudland stated that the classification of these two photos as the least severe indicated that his most recent conviction did not meet the criteria for custodial sentencing.
Gordon Dreghorn received a three-year community order, which required participation in various probation service treatments and rehabilitation programs.
Gordon Dreghorn was also subjected to a sexual harm prevention order, which includes many regulations about his access to children and the Internet, for a duration of five years.
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